Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown defined by work ethic, heart - ESPN

DETROIT — When Lions coach Dan Campbell announced his 2024 team captains, he gave each player the opportunity to speak to the group.

He listed off the names: Linebacker Alex Anzalone. Special teams standout Jalen Reeves-Maybin. Defensive end Aidan Hutchinson. Quarterback Jared Goff. Offensive tackle Penei Sewell… and finally, wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.

Standing in front of his Lions teammates, St. Brown — a 2021 fourth-round pick who has worked himself into one of the NFL's best receivers — shared his goal for the season.

«Whatever happens is going to happen throughout the year, but I want to be the hardest practicing team, the best practicing team in the league,» St. Brown told the group. «Because at the end of the day, if you practice hard, the games are going to take care of itself.»

In the four years since being drafted, St. Brown's game has spoken loudly. In that span, he ranks third in receptions (391), seventh in receiving yards (4,408), ninth in receiving touchdowns (30) and is among the leaders in receptions per game (6.41). But his work ethic and intensity have earned him his place in Detroit and become the stuff of legend among teammates and coaches.

In addition to demanding perfection on the practice field, he maintains a daily routine of catching 202 passes from the Jugs machine, completing 200 situps and juggling and catching a tennis ball 500 times off a wall to improve his hand-eye coordination. His serious approach, competitiveness and production on the field have made him one of the franchise's foundational players and one quarterback Jared Goff likened to an all-time great.

«The way I compare him to Aaron [Donald] is just that when he steps on that grass, he's not messing around,» Goff told ESPN.