What is the secret to Amon-Ra St Brown’s success? Passion, dedication and commitment. Sometimes so much of it that his coach Dan Campbell has to protect him from himself

Munich – The extra shifts are a tradition for Amon-Ra St. Brown. He’s caught 202 passes with the Football Passing Machine, after every practice, for years. He’s been shaping his catching skills this way since his high school days. And that is only one aspect.

Because his attitude and dedication to the game make him one of the most promising wide receivers in the league. That St. Brown is delivering in his second season with the Detroit Lions after a strong rookie year is no coincidence. Before the Week 11 game at the New York Giants the 23-year-old stands at 518 yards and three touchdowns in eight appearances.

“He works like it’s the last day he can play the game,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said on The Athletic. “Every play he works on the details of the route. He’s taught himself that practice is a lot like a game for him. His approach to the game is like nothing I’ve ever seen. “

Amon-Ra St. Brown: Route running as best skill

College receiver Kalif Raymond describes it this way, “What makes Ra who he is is not what everybody sees. It’s what people don’t see. “

Like the passion in training, the extra shifts, the extra runs and routes. His position coach Antwaan Randle El confirms that St Brown’s route running is one of his best skills. And thirst for knowledge. “He asks questions during meetings, and he asks questions after,” Randle El says. “Always questions.”

As a result, St. Brown doesn’t just run the routes – more importantly, he knows why he runs them the way he does.

As head coach, Campbell likes to see that effort, of course, but sometimes has to slam on the brakes. Then he has to limit St. Brown’s reps “to protect him from himself,” Campbell said.

St. Brown himself sees himself as “an actor. We have to make the DBs think we’re doing something we’re not doing. If we want to go left, we have to make them think we want to go right. The whole position is almost like an art to me. “