Amon-Ra St. Brown Reveals Lions Player He's Excited About Heading Toward Fall Camp
The Detroit Lions finished 15-3 last season but were unable to achieve their biggest goal of reaching and winning Super Bowl LIX after winning the NFC North Division.
Advertisement
The Lions' offense put 31 points on the board against the Washington Commanders but lost 45-31 amid three Jared Goff interceptions.
The Lions were led in receiving by Amon-Ra St. Brown, who had 8 catches for 137 yards and a touchdown, Jahmyr Gibbs, Sam LaPorta and others.
On Monday, St. Brown revealed the Lions player he's excited about heading into fall camp who could take a big leap forward in 2025-26.
Sam LaPorta makes a practice catch over the shoulder on June 5, 2025. © Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
St. Brown chose LaPorta as his breakout player for this upcoming season, noting that he believes LaPorta has room to grow in new offensive coordinator John Morton's offense.
"Not taking anything away from what he did last year," St. Brown said. "He's a baller, but I can tell this year, he's making plays out there every day," he added.
Advertisement
"He's gonna have a big year."
The Lions' passing attack is expected to look similar to last year's with LaPorta at tight end, backed up by Brock Wright along with Kenny Yeboah and Shane Zylstra.
St. Brown is expected to be joined by a thicker-built, stronger Jameson Williams and Tim Patrick, who made memorable contributions down the stretch of the Lions' division title run.
LaPorta's memorable diving touchdown catch against the Commanders showed the former Iowa star has another gear he is capable of reaching.
Now, the task will be to make the extraordinary look ordinary as the Lions prepare for what they hope will be another championship season.
Advertisement
Related: Mark Wahlberg Did Not Hesitate to Give His 2025-26 Detroit Lions Prediction
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 10, 2025, where it first appeared.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Eagles' All-Pro linebacker Zack Baun makes his debut on the NFL's Top 100 list
Philadelphia Eagles All-Pro linebacker makes his top 100 players debut, landing at No. 26 on the list The Eagles signed Zack Baun last off-season with the idea that he'd be a key contributor and potential special teams standout on a one-year deal. Baun was switched to the linebacker position by defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and flourished as a three-down linebacker with the Eagles. After a dynamic season that saw Baun take his place among the NFL's best, he was just ranked No. 26 best in the NFL's Top 100 Players of 2025, becoming the fourth Eagles defender to make the list this year. The Eagles kept Zack Baun in Philadelphia, agreeing to a massive three-year, $51 million contract, including $34 million guaranteed at signing and an additional $1.5 million in incentives and escalators. A finalist for AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Zack Baun was the highest-graded LB (90.1) by PFF in the regular season, producing 150 tackles and 5 FFs (2nd in the NFL, behind T.J. Watt – 6). In the playoffs, Baun became the second NFL LB since 1991 to generate takeaways in each of their first four career postseason starts (Devin White in 2020), which included an INT of Patrick Mahomes in Super Bowl LIX.


USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
The Grant Stuard experiment at kick returner will continue for the Lions
Stuard said he borrows from Jahmyr Gibbs in his style Grant Stuard is not your typical NFL kick returner. As a hard-hitting, 225-pound linebacker, Stuard is much bigger and less averse to initiating contact than the standard return specialist, often a speedy or shifty wide receiver like Detroit's Kalif Raymond. Yet Stuard continues to rep with Raymond as the Lions' primary kick returners. That's despite fumbling away the opening kickoff of the Hall of Fame game, when he unintentionally rammed full-speed into the back of a teammate blocking for him. Since then, Stuard has developed into a real threat with his all-gas, no-brakes running style and surprising speed for a linebacker. He did dabble in college, at Houston, as a running back, so it's not completely unfamiliar for Stuard. Since entering the NFL in 2021 as Mr. Irrelevant with the Indianapolis Colts, Stuard has also quickly emerged as one of the league's best kick and punt coverage players. Stuard blends those backgrounds to help mold his kick return style. "I think that, just understanding — I think it's the longer I play football, the more I understand the threat of a dynamic guy with the ball in his hands," a pensive Stuard opined. "And me knowing, as a cover guy and a defensive guy, I'd kind of rather play the guys who want to get sideways." Stuard further explained why, "One, because I'm fast. But two, it's just kind of like if you have a guy that's as fast as Jah (Jahmyr Gibbs) and he's slicing through your defense, now he's at the second level immediately. So I kind of have that same mentality with the ball in my hand, as far as like, if I can slice through, slice through, eventually I'm going to get through. Get one-on-one with the safety with all my momentum, should be something good for the Detroit Lions." As a reserve linebacker, Stuard has proven a natural fit in Detroit with his downhill, always-attacking style. He's a strong open-field tackler who is perfectly willing to blow up a lead blocker, or ruin quick screens and slants--ask Miami from joint practices last week. Stuard's potential as a kick returner got more than lip service from Lions special teams coordinator Dave Fipp. After noting the ill-fated fumble, Fipp was enthusiastic about Stuard's upside returning kicks. "He showed a bunch of great things and then it said to us, 'OK, now we got to invest more time in him, to be fair to him and help him with ball security, and stuff like that, ' Fipp told reporters on Tuesday. "But it's now worth the investment because of what he's shown. So, we're excited about him.' Expect to see more of No. 15 and his thick mop of hair barely contained by a helmet returning kickoffs against the Houston Texans in the preseason finale on Sunday. And don't be surprised if Stuard fields the opening kickoff in Green Bay in Week 1, too.


USA Today
3 hours ago
- USA Today
ESPN analyst Ryan Clark stans Lions hard on Monday Night Countdown
Clark is all-in on the reigning NFC No. 1 seed There are plenty of analysts who are believers in the Detroit Lions for the 2025 season. Other than perhaps diehard Lions fans, none may be bigger than ESPN analyst Ryan Clark. During the Monday Night Countdown before Monday's preseason game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Washington Commanders, the panel of experts each had 40 seconds to talk about a team and make their case for the upcoming season. Clark chose to talk about the Lions and made it clear he is very high on the reigning NFC North champions. "I'm wondering why we're sleeping on them like we took a melatonin, rubbed ourselves in lavender and drank chamomile tea," Clark proclaimed. "The Detroit Lions are a team that is poised to be right back where they were last year, which is the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC. We're talking about two running backs that can absolutely get it done. "Jared Goff, who they told me this week, is everything to this team. And Dan Campbell, who I watched at practice be precise, be intense and have a sense of urgency that feels like they've underachieved two years in a row. And Kelvin Sheppard told me that taking over for Aaron Glenn on the defensive side of the ball, he is coming after people. Not to mention, he has 12 dudes who were on IR last year in the playoffs and also lost Amik Robertson in the first half playing against the Washington Commanders. They back." Host Scott Van Pelt was so impressed with Clark's rant that he opined, "Give him another Emmy." Clark is clearly all-in on the Lions this season, getting further fueled after attending the Lions' joint practice with the Miami Dolphins. Clark didn't even mention the position he played with the Steelers, the safety position, where the Lions have two of the best in the NFL in Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph. Of course, you can only say so much in 40 seconds. Even with that omission, Clark loves the outlook of this Lions team that has seemingly slipped under the radar for some folks, despite winning 15 games last season. The Lions are right in the crosshairs of Clark's radar.