New England Patriots
A.J. Brown — who grew up as a Patriots fan in Mississippi — will give Drake Maye and New England’s offense a big enhance shifting ahead.
Drake Maye has a brand new No. 1 wideout to throw to.
The New England Patriots accomplished a long-awaited blockbuster commerce on Monday afternoon, sending a 2028 first-round choose and 2027 fifth-round choice to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for star wide receiver A.J. Brown.
After months of hypothesis and discuss of a handshake settlement being within the works between New England and Philly, Brown is lastly in Foxborough — and will give New England’s already explosive offense one other main enhance shifting ahead.
Listed here are 5 issues to know in regards to the 28-year-old star receiver:
He’s been top-of-the-line vast receivers within the league for years
Brown’s observe report of torching opposing defenses and carving up defensive backs in man protection speaks for itself.
A second-round choose (No. 51 general) in 2019 out of Ole Miss, Brown instantly established himself as a pressure to be reckoned with throughout three seasons with the Titans — averaging a league-best 20.2 yards per catch as a rookie and reeling in 24 touchdowns over 43 video games with Tennessee.
Brown took one other main step ahead after the Eagles traded for him in April 2022, changing into Jalen Hurts’ prime goal en route to 2 Tremendous Bowl runs.
Regardless of arising quick towards the Chiefs in Tremendous Bowl LVII, Brown had six catches for 96 yards and a landing within the 38-35 setback in Arizona.
Each Brown and the Eagles bought over the hump towards Patrick Mahomes and Kansas Metropolis simply two seasons later in Tremendous Bowl LIX — with Brown recording one other landing in a 40-22 triumph in New Orleans.
In whole, Brown has surpassed 1,000 or extra receiving yards in six of his seven full seasons within the NFL — together with all 4 years in Philly. Over his 4 seasons with the Eagles, Brown averaged 84 catches, 1,258 yards, and eight touchdowns a 12 months.
Since coming into the league in 2019, Brown ranks fourth within the NFL in each receiving yards (8,029) and landing catches (56).
For a Patriots crew that has solely had two gamers surpass 1,000 receiving yards within the final seven seasons (Julian Edelman in 2019, Stefon Diggs in 2025), a participant like Brown needs to be a breath of contemporary air — and provides Maye and the Patriots an explosive goal for the following few seasons.
Brown particularly has excelled at beating man protection throughout his stints with the Titans and Eagles, utilizing his 6-foot-1, 226-pound body to outmuscle smaller defensive backs and snag contested balls and utilizing his pace to achieve chunk yardage after the catch.
Given Maye’s means to repeatedly dissect man protection this previous season, including a pair of shifty (however sturdy) receiving targets over the offseason in Brown and Romeo Doubs stands as a large carry for New England’s wideout corps.
Brown is already conversant in Mike Vrabel
Brown has loads of historical past with Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel, contemplating that he performed for him throughout his first three years within the NFL with the Tennessee Titans.
Talking on the NFL Scouting Mix in February, Vrabel spoke extremely of Brown and acknowledged that the duo nonetheless has a detailed relationship to at the present time.
“It has meant quite a bit,” Vrabel said of his relationship with Brown. “I’ve watched him develop. I’ve watched him mature. I’m pleased with him. I’m pleased with the daddy that he’s, and the husband (that he’s). That has nothing to do with the place he performs, or the place he performed. So these are the issues which might be vital.
“We attain out and textual content one another through the issues that occur good to one another, and typically issues don’t go so effectively for the folks you’re shut with and also you textual content these as effectively. It’s a two-way road of assist and reminders of what bought us to the place we’re right here at the moment.”
Regardless of these shut ties, Brown admitted on the “Dudes on Dudes” podcast with Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski that he initially needed to get used to Vrabel’s energetic and exacting strategy as a head coach in Tennessee.
“So, [Vrabel] is the kind of coach who, he’s going to name on you within the conferences,” Brown mentioned. “He’s going to be sure you’re staying engaged and he’s going to go over the keys to victory for the week. You higher know them just like the again of your hand.”
“I used to write down in my pocket book — as a result of on the time I didn’t actually like [Vrabel] — I didn’t like him, I’ll admit it, he is aware of that. So, I used to write down ‘I hate [Vrabel], I hate [Vrabel], I hate [Vrabel],” Brown added of what he’d scribble in his pocket book to make it appear to be he was paying consideration.
Ultimately, Vrabel left an enormous impression on Brown, and vice versa.
Vrabel did little to cover his displeasure within the Titans’ draft room after Tennessee traded Brown to Philly for a 2022 first-round choose (Treylon Burks) and a third-round choice.
”No one needed to have (Brown) stroll out of (Tennessee),” Vrabel said on the “Bussin’ With The Boys” Podcast in August. “It didn’t work out. It’s disappointing. The factor that I’m most pleased with is the connection with him and the gamers that I’ve coached.”
Brown was a Patriots fan rising up
He hails from Starkville, Mississippi, however Brown has made it recognized on a number of events that he was an ardent supporter of the Patriots rising up.
Granted, rooting for Tom Brady, Invoice Belichick, and a two-decade dynasty made for a straightforward alternative, given how typically New England was featured in primetime matches and pitched playoff showdowns.
However, talking on “Dudes on Dudes”, Brown gave another excuse for rooting for the Patriots.
“After I was youthful, I needed to do every part like my older cousin, and he was an enormous Patriots fan,” Brown mentioned. “It was that easy. Nothing advanced about it.”
Given his affinity for the Patriots, Brown was anticipating to listen to his title referred to as by New England through the 2019 NFL Draft — particularly with New England presumably in vary to pick him with the thirty second (and remaining) choose within the first spherical.
During a June 2020 interview on “Bussin’ With The Boys,” Brown admitted that he totally anticipated to get a name from Foxborough.
“I simply knew I used to be going to the Patriots, as a result of I used to be an enormous Patriots fan,” Brown mentioned of ready for that choose.
“I bought a telephone name and I used to be like ‘That is it.’ Nevertheless it wasn’t it, it was my agent. And he was like ‘Simply sit tight.’ And I’m like ‘OK.’ He was like ‘They finna take a receiver.’ And I’m like ‘OK, cool, guess.’ I simply noticed that the time simply stored taking place on the Patriots clock. And I used to be like ‘Uhh, they tripping. I don’t know what the hell is happening.’”
New England did take a receiver … however selected Arizona State’s N’Keal Harry as a substitute.
“So that they find yourself choosing, it mentioned the choose was in. I do know I ain’t bought a telephone name by now. So I’m like ‘This s*** is over.’ So I instructed my brother, I instructed D, I mentioned ‘Bro, let’s go.’ And I left everyone on the home and went house. I went within the closet and cried my eyes out. I swear.”
Whereas Brown — taken later within the second spherical by the Titans — shortly blossomed right into a star participant, Harry recorded solely 598 yards and 4 touchdowns over three seasons in New England earlier than getting dealt for a seventh-round choose in 2022.
He had a rocky finish to his tenure in Philly
For all that each Brown and the Eagles achieved collectively over the past 4 seasons, his time in Philly was typically rife with distractions and drama — due largely to Brown’s gripes over his position within the crew’s offense.
Brown made his frustrations abundantly clear each on the sideline and in entrance of the media in his remaining years with the crew.
Maybe probably the most well-known event of Brown’s discontent together with his former crew got here in 2025, with the wideout going viral for studying the self-help e book “Inside Excellence” by Jim Murphy on the sidelines throughout a playoff sport.
Whereas some seen Brown — who had just one catch for 10 yards on three targets on the time — as highlighting his frustrations together with his fast studying session, he mentioned that he typically reads throughout video games to mentally relaxation and refocus.
Brown continued to butt heads with the Eagles’ offensive strategy this previous season, with Eagles proprietor Jeffrey Lurie assembly personally with Brown in November 2025 to hash out his considerations over his position on the crew.
“It’s not simply solely about my state of affairs. I need to win too,” Brown instructed Philadelphia reporters that month. “I feel if we’re actually centered on profitable and doing our job, we will’t simply preserve slapping a Band-Help over the protection doing their job and getting us out of hassle. At what level are we going to select up our slack as an offense?
“That’s what I’m getting at. … You may’t preserve slapping a Band-Help over that and count on to win late within the 12 months and suppose you’re going to go to that on the finish of the 12 months. It’s not going to f—ing occur.”
Brown additionally mentioned he was “not apologizing” for feedback made in a Madden video with streamer Janky Rondo in November, with the wideout saying that his current situation was a “s— show”.
Amid a number of reported commerce rumors, Brown also appeared to hit a breaking point with his QB in Hurts and his ability to conduct the Eagles’ offense.
Throughout media availability final week, Hurts was requested about what a Brown commerce would imply for each him and the Eagles.
“Picked the correct query to sip [my water] on, huh?” Hurts joked.
He was additionally a standout baseball participant
Brown’s abilities aren’t simply restricted to the soccer area.
As a prime recruit in each baseball and soccer at Starkville Excessive College, Brown turned simply the second participant, after Kyler Murray, to play in each the Below Armour All-America Soccer Sport and the Below Armour All-America Baseball Sport.
Regardless of his profile as a possible star wideout on the subsequent degree, Brown was chosen by the San Diego Padres as a fleet-footed outfielder within the nineteenth spherical of the 2016 MLB Draft.
“It was like watching a grown man on a area of excessive schoolers,” Padres area scout Stephen Moritz instructed MLB.com of Brown’s profile as a baseball participant. “Like, ‘Oh my God, this dude simply scored from first, straightforward.’ … The primary time I noticed him, I knew this was a distinct type of athlete than 99 p.c of the gamers we have been going to scout.”
Though Brown caught with soccer at Ole Miss, he participated in San Diego’s prolonged Spring Coaching in Arizona after spring follow wrapped following his freshman and sophomore years of school.
Brown credited his time taking part in baseball for serving to him grow to be the star wideout he’s at the moment.
“I inform plenty of guys man, you catch the ball along with your eyes,” Brown told ESPN in 2020. “Baseball actually helped me out with that for soccer. While you’re monitoring a ball, particularly a deep ball, it helped me quite a bit. I performed heart area in baseball. On a deep go in soccer, you choose it and go observe it identical to a middle fielder.”
If solely Monday’s commerce was struck earlier, Brown would have been a pressure on the diamond during Sunday’s MayeDay Family Foundation’s Celebrity Softball Game at Polar Park.
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