“I Was Furious”: Disappointed With Pro Bowl Snub, Amon-Ra St. Brown Took Revenge on NFL With 1500-Yard Milestone

“Number one, number one, number one wide receiver!” You will hear this statement if you watch the 6th episode of the latest ‘Receiver’ documentary on Netflix from 41:31. That number one wide receiver in mention is none other than Detroit Lions‘ Amon-Ra St. Brown. “He did not make the Pro Bowl,” the broadcaster completed his statement. But what he did in reply is worthwhile to note.

Captured speaking in the documentary, St. Brown made his disappointment known. “I didn’t make it. And I was hot, I was… [exhales]… I was furious,” he said. The list announced on the 3rd of July, had these listed NFC receivers: Dallas Cowboys‘ Cee Dee Lamb, Philadelphia Eagles‘ AJ Brown, Tampa Bay Buccaneers‘ Mike Evans, and Los Angeles Rams‘ Puka Nacua. The Lions’ WR had 112 receptions for 1,371 yards and 10 touchdowns until that point in the season. He tied with Cee Dee Lamb and Miami Dolphins‘ Tyreek Hill – who was on the list for the AFC receivers- for most games with 100 yards receiving (8). St. Brown also had the second-most receptions in the league, tied with Hill. No doubt that the absence stung him. But he had something bigger planned for himself. And it was due for the upcoming game against the Minnesota Vikings, in week 18.

“Not many people knew about the yards that I needed to reach 1,500 yards in the season. I needed 129 to get it. But I’ve only had one or two games I’ve had more than that in my career, so I knew it was going to be tough for me to do it,” St. Brown said in the documentary while sharing about his ‘personal goals’.

In the clip that runs in the documentary, you can see him completing a 70-yard touchdown catch from his teammate QB Jared Goff. One of the commentators was left exasperated as he counted down the yards to the end zone, “That is Amon-Ra St. Brown. Angling in the 25, to the 20, to the 15, cut back at the 10, Amon-Ra at the 5, fighting at the two– into the end zone!” Wow! That linkup marked the receiver’s career-longest catch from scrimmage and his 10th touchdown of the year. He finished the game, leading his team with 10 targets, catching seven passes for 144 yards and a TD. The game ended 30-20 in favor of the Lions.

“How in the heck did he not make the Pro Bowl?! What an absolute sham,” one of the commentators said in awe after learning his stats for the 2023 season. Well, even the 24-year-old WR didn’t like it.

Amon-Ra St. Brown felt disrespected

Before we move on, let’s look at these numbers of Amon-Ra St. Brown after the final game of the regular 2023 season.

Now, answer this question. Was his anger justified? Well, he thought so. St. Brown was in disbelief after learning from the HC Dan Campbell that he didn’t make it into the initial list of the Pro Bowl selection. In the documentary, he compared his anger levels to the 2021 NFL Draft. He revealed to ESPN, in April 2024, that it made him “mad” not getting picked in the first two days. Now, Netflix captured quoting that same instance. He said, “You know, I wouldn’t say I was as mad as I was during draft day. But, I would say, it was second to that.”

Reflecting on the snub, St. Brown couldn’t believe it happened in 2023 of all the seasons. Not just because of his performance, but also because of his team’s. That’s what he told himself after missing the Pro Bowl in 2022. He thought it might have been due to fewer wins and prime-time games. But his numbers were outrageous still.

A WR who has been consistently giving his all on the gridiron since his rookie season in 2021 with the Lions deserved to be selected for the Pro Bowl. Talk about being heavily underrated. The way ‘Sun-God’ is left out of the conversations when talking about the best WRs in the league. That’s consistent too. St. Brown was trying to highlight this in the documentary.

He said, “I feel disrespected as a player. I feel like, you know, I had a pretty good season this year. Pretty good team. But obviously, it wasn’t enough, it seems like so. I gotta do more…” While he got the spot in the Pro Bowl, eventually, it was only as a replacement for the Eagles’ WR Brown – who got injured in the regular season finale against the Buccaneers.

With the new season on the horizon, do you think Amon-Ra will finally be able to prove his critics wrong? Will he surpass last season’s 1,515-yard mark?