In the early 2000’s, the University of Southern California produced a ton of quality NFL talent. Players such as Reggie Bush, Ryan Kalil, Mike Williams, Carson Palmer, and Troy Polamalu all played at The Coliseum. While the USC teams of today don’t quite measure up to that level of talent, they’re still loaded with quality NFL Draft prospects. As we’ll breakdown in this scouting report, Amon-Ra St Brown, one of their top wide receivers, has a chance to break the mold and become a top 2021 NFL Draft prospect.
In this scouting report, we’ll examine St Brown’s back ground as a high school recruit and collegiate athlete. Next, we’ll turn on the game film as we look at positives, and negatives, from his tape. Finally, we’ll look at his scouting report and then predict his future as an NFL wide receiver.
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Background
Coming out of Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California, Amon-Ra St Brown was a five-star prospect according to 247 Sports and Rivals. Prior to his commitment to USC, St Brown had offers from Florida, Alabama, and Notre Dame.
As a freshman in 2018, St Brown started in five games, but appeared in all twelve for USC. He finished with 750 receiving yards on 60 receptions, along with three touchdowns.
In 2019, St Brown saw an increased role in the USC offense, which resulted in 77 catches on 1,042 yards. Additionally, he finished with six touchdowns. Further, he finished with at least 100 receiving yards on four occasions. Following the 2019 season, Amon-Ra St Brown underwent surgery for a sports hernia.
The 2020 season was shortened due to the coronavirus, but Amon-Ra St Brown was still able to finish with 41 receptions for 478 yards and seven touchdowns. Furthermore, St Brown had two games with more than 100-yards receiving in each.
What I Like About Amon-Ra St Brown
As with all of our scouting reports, we like to embed game film that best illustrates what we’re seeing on tape. Below, I’ve included three clips for Amon-Ra St. Brown. For the first game, we head to the 2020 Pac-12 Championship game against Oregon.
Working Back Towards The QB In Space
There’s a lot to like on this play from Amon-Ra St. Brown. For starters, I really like his quickness off the line of scrimmage to get upfield in a hurry. He’s the first read on this play, but the ball doesn’t leave the quarterback’s hands. However, it’s what happens after the quarterback escapes the pocket that impressed me. St. Brown starts to work across the field, before changing direction and coming back towards the quarterback along the sidelines. On a play where the quarterback is scrambling to keep the play alive, Amon-Ra St. Brown is his best friend.
Ball Tracking Downfield
Shortly after coming off the line of scrimmage, Amon-Ra St. Brown plants a foot inside, forcing the cornerback to open his hips. This gives St. Brown the separation that he needs to give the quarterback room to place the ball in the endzone. St. Brown does a great job of tracking the ball, maintaining the separation necessary, and bringing this in for the touchdown. It’s a great effort all around.
Creating Separation At The Top Of The Route
I’ve already mentioned the quickness that Amon-Ra St. Brown displays coming off the line of scrimmage. On this play, however, it’s the quickness out of the break that caps this one off. St. Brown is able to create a four-yard bubble for the quarterback to deliver the pass by sinking his hips and exploding out. It’s placed perfectly, allowing St. Brown to grab the first down, but also keeps him upright.
What I Dislike About Amon-Ra St Brown
On the previous page, we looked at three clips that best highlights what Amon-Ra St. Brown does really well. However, as with all of our scouting reports, we like to focus on plays where a prospect needs to improve, too. On this page, I’ve embedded three clips that identifies areas where St. Brown needs to improve.
Blocking Ability
I think it’s safe to say that Amon-Ra St. Brown isn’t a polished blocker. On this play, St. Brown fails to engage with the defender, to establish leverage, and give the running back ample room to make a play. Had he been more aggressive in his attack, this could have been a completely different result. However, it’s still quite successful given the running back’s effort to fight for the yardage in traffic.
Reading The Field To Find Open Space
First off, this looks like a bit of miscommunication between the two receivers on the crossing route. As a result, Amon-Ra St. Brown is unable to get into the open field. However, on the previous page, I highlighted his ability to find that space and make the job easier on the quarterback. I would’ve loved to have seen the same effort on this play, too.
Lateral Quickness To Execute Efficient Blocks On Screens
Here’s another example of a poorly executed block by Amon-Ra St. Brown. It’s a designed screen to the outside receiver with St. Brown lined up in the middle. First off, it appears as though St. Brown is going to attack the middle defensive back, rather than the one lined up on the outside. As a result, St. Brown is late to execute the block, which leads to a loss of yardage on the play.
Amon-Ra St Brown NFL Draft Scouting Report
Pros
- Ability To Create Separation
- Locating The Ball Quickly
- Explosiveness and Acceleration
Cons
- Blocking Ability
- Lateral Agility and Quickness
- Finding Space In The Open Field
The Verdict
Amon-Ra St Brown was one of the top wide receivers in his recruiting class. While St Brown hasn’t produced the same level of stats as some of the top 2021 NFL Draft prospects, he’s still equally as talented.
As we’ve explained in this scouting report, Amon-Ra St Brown is a speedy receiver with an excellent feel for creating separation. While there are more polished route runners in this draft class, St Brown remains a very solid prospect. I fully expect him to come off the board in the second round, but if he does happen to drop into the third round, look for a team to make a move up to select him.
However, Amon-Ra St Brown has several areas in which his mechanics and techniques need to be refined. If an NFL franchise is able to improve his blocking technique, they’ll likely get what could turn out to be a top five wide receiver from the 2021 NFL Draft.