Social media chatter has recently tried to paint Amon-Ra St. Brown as having a drop problem — but a closer look at the data shows the concern is mostly manufactured.

Few would dispute that the Detroit Lions have a legitimate star in St. Brown. Though he entered the league without major hype, he has worked his way into the elite tier of NFL wide receivers. With that level of success inevitably comes criticism, and lately the narrative has centered around supposed drop troubles. But the numbers tell a different story.

St. Brown Remains One of the League’s Most Dependable Targets

First, it’s important to acknowledge that “drops” aren’t an official NFL statistic, which means different tracking services produce different totals. In St. Brown’s case, depending on the source, he’s credited with either three or five drops.

Even if we take the higher number — five — he would still rank only sixth in drop rate among the 15 most-targeted receivers this season. That pace would project to roughly 8.5 drops over the year, still fewer than Calvin Johnson posted in three of his nine seasons with Detroit.

His contested catch rate sits at 50%, nearly identical to his career average of 53.3%, indicating no meaningful decline. Meanwhile, he’s producing a career-high average depth of target (7.9 yards, per Pro Football Reference), showing that he’s being used more aggressively downfield.

So far this season, St. Brown has hauled in 66 passes on 94 targets for 735 yards. If the five-drop figure is accurate, it would give him a 5.3% drop rate — technically his highest to date, but only slightly above the 4.9% mark he posted two years ago. That’s a small enough difference that calling it a regression seems like an overreaction.

It also doesn’t help that the Lions’ offense as a whole hasn’t been as sharp without former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. Head coach Dan Campbell recently responded by demoting John Morton and taking play-calling back into his own hands.

With Campbell steering the offense, the Lions should start to resemble their more efficient units from recent seasons — and St. Brown’s production should only rise as the year continues.