Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown celebrates the 31-23 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC divisional round at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024. His hair is dyed blue. Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

USC Trojans Legends Leonard Williams, Amon-Ra St. Brown Ranked Among Best NFL Players

Originally posted on USC Trojans on SI
By Gabriel Duarte | Last updated Jul 6, 2025 7:15 PM ET

The USC Trojans have produced the second-most NFL draft picks of all time with 533 selections, just behind Notre Dame, so it shouldn't come as a surprise to see a couple of former Trojans find success at the next level and began to distinguish themselves as among the league's best.

Detriot Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and Seattle Seahawks defensive end Leonard Williams cracked CBS' Pete Prisco's Top 100 NFL players of 2025 list. St. Brown is making a return to Prisco's list, meanwhile Williams made the list after not being ranked last season.

Between the two, Prisco is higher on St. Brown. After appearing at No. 39 last season on Prisco's list, St. Brown checks in at No. 58. Interestingly enough, the former USC star pass catcher is the No. 8 wide receiver on the list.

"St. Brown finished second in the league with 115 catches in 2024 with 12 touchdowns. He is a chain mover with 61.3% of his catches going for first downs," Prisco said.

It's understandable to see why St. Brown slipped in Prisco's rankings. After nabbing career-highs in receptions and receiving yards with 119 catches and 1,515 yards in 2023, St. Brown's 2024 campaign saw his numbers take a slight dip, but still managed to be one of the most productive wide receivers in the league.

This season, St. Brown will still garner a considerable amount of attention from opposing defensive coordinators, but will try to get back to his 2023 numbers with the looming threat of tight end Sam LaPorta in Detroit's pass attack.

After getting traded in the middle of the year in 2023 from the New York Giants to Seattle, Williams managed to settle in nicely to his new home during his first full season in the Pacific Northwest. Prisco ranked Williams as the No. 8 defensive end and the No. 64 player in the NFL.

"In his first full season with Seattle, Williams had 11 sacks, the most he's had since 2020. He was a force for the Seattle defense as he turns 31 this year," Prisco said.

Entering season No. 11 in his NFL career, the former No. 6 pick in the 2015 NFL Draft looking like he is having a career renaissance in Seattle. Williams seems to have found his calling in 2024 under coach Mike Macdonald as a pass rusher on the outside. Prior to his 11-sack season in 2024, Williams had only one other double-digit sack season and that was in the 2020 campaign when he wracked up 11.5 with the Giants.

If he is able to get another double-digit sack season in 2025, Williams could be on the fast track to becoming one of the best Trojans' defensive lineman in the 21st century at age 31.

This article first appeared on USC Trojans on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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