It's hard to know exactly what's up with the A.J. Brown trade. I've seen it reported as a done deal, and now I'm seeing a story claiming the Patriots aren't willing to give up a first-round pick. I'm going to go with the earlier story.
There's a lot to support the done deal idea. For one thing, the Eagles haven't wasted any time lately making statements like "A.J. is part of our team and we're looking forward to another big season," nor have we seen any actual reports of different NFL teams talking trade with Philadelphia. (A reporter's speculation that Kansas City could get involved due to Rashee Rice developments is not the same thing as actual talks.)
And there's also the fact that if the Patriots, who did just go to the Super Bowl last year, aren't trading for Brown, then what exactly are they doing? They sure seem to have closed the door on bringing back Stefon Diggs. And all they've added to the equation is Romeo Doubs, who's no A.J. Brown.
Table shows per-game numbers for all wideouts who've started at least 50 games the last four seasons (Doubs' career, and Brown's tenure in Philadelphia), sorted by PPR scoring. Brown has been a little bit better. (Players listed with their 2025 teams.)
| WIDE RECEIVERS PER GAME, 2022-2025 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | St | No | Yds | TD | PPR |
| Ja'Marr Chase, Cin. | 61 | 7.2 | 88.2 | .67 | 20.1 |
| Amon-Ra St. Brown, Det. | 66 | 6.9 | 80.9 | .59 | 18.8 |
| CeeDee Lamb, Dall. | 63 | 6.6 | 85.4 | .52 | 18.7 |
| Tyreek Hill, Mia. | 54 | 6.3 | 87.6 | .52 | 18.4 |
| Justin Jefferson, Min. | 61 | 6.3 | 89.6 | .43 | 17.9 |
| Davante Adams, LAR | 62 | 5.6 | 72.8 | .72 | 17.2 |
| A.J. Brown, Phi. | 62 | 5.5 | 81.2 | .52 | 16.7 |
| Stefon Diggs, N.E. | 58 | 6.0 | 71.1 | .47 | 15.9 |
| Mike Evans, T.B. | 54 | 4.8 | 69.5 | .61 | 15.6 |
| Nico Collins, Hou. | 52 | 4.9 | 75.0 | .47 | 15.3 |
| Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Sea. | 51 | 5.5 | 69.6 | .39 | 15.0 |
| Tee Higgins, Cin. | 54 | 4.6 | 63.7 | .62 | 14.8 |
| Keenan Allen, LAC | 55 | 5.9 | 63.9 | .40 | 14.7 |
| Chris Olave, N.O. | 55 | 5.3 | 67.8 | .36 | 14.2 |
| DeVonta Smith, Phi. | 63 | 5.1 | 65.1 | .41 | 14.1 |
| Garrett Wilson, NYJ | 56 | 5.5 | 64.0 | .33 | 13.9 |
| Drake London, Atl. | 62 | 5.0 | 63.9 | .37 | 13.6 |
| Terry McLaurin, Was. | 61 | 4.5 | 63.5 | .43 | 13.5 |
| DK Metcalf, Pitt. | 63 | 4.5 | 63.6 | .41 | 13.3 |
| Zay Flowers, Balt. | 50 | 4.7 | 62.6 | .33 | 13.3 |
| DJ Moore, Chi. | 68 | 4.5 | 57.4 | .44 | 13.2 |
| Jakobi Meyers, 2tms | 60 | 5.0 | 57.2 | .39 | 13.1 |
| Deebo Samuel, Was. | 58 | 4.1 | 50.0 | .47 | 13.0 |
| Jaylen Waddle, Mia. | 62 | 4.3 | 64.9 | .33 | 13.0 |
| Michael Pittman, Ind. | 65 | 5.5 | 56.4 | .29 | 12.9 |
| George Pickens, Dall. | 65 | 4.1 | 65.7 | .34 | 12.8 |
| Courtland Sutton, Den. | 65 | 4.3 | 56.9 | .42 | 12.5 |
| Adam Thielen, 2tms | 52 | 4.5 | 47.8 | .30 | 11.1 |
| Wan'Dale Robinson, NYG | 51 | 5.1 | 47.1 | .18 | 11.1 |
| Jerry Jeudy, Cle. | 65 | 4.0 | 54.8 | .23 | 10.9 |
| Christian Kirk, Hou. | 50 | 3.9 | 50.3 | .26 | 10.5 |
| Romeo Doubs, G.B. | 55 | 3.5 | 42.2 | .39 | 10.1 |
| DeAndre Hopkins, Balt. | 59 | 3.7 | 46.0 | .29 | 10.1 |
| Tyler Lockett, 2tms | 62 | 3.9 | 45.0 | .28 | 10.1 |
| Alec Pierce, Ind. | 64 | 2.5 | 45.8 | .27 | 8.6 |
| Darius Slayton, NYG | 60 | 2.9 | 43.4 | .18 | 8.3 |
| Darnell Mooney, Atl. | 58 | 2.9 | 40.4 | .16 | 7.9 |
| Mack Hollins, N.E. | 53 | 2.7 | 32.7 | .21 | 7.3 |
| Demarcus Robinson, S.F. | 50 | 2.4 | 30.8 | .26 | 7.1 |
| Rashod Bateman, Balt. | 52 | 2.1 | 31.4 | .28 | 7.0 |
| JuJu Smith-Schuster, K.C. | 55 | 2.7 | 30.9 | .11 | 6.5 |
| Jahan Dotson, Phi. | 51 | 2.3 | 27.8 | .24 | 6.5 |
| Van Jefferson, Ten. | 55 | 1.7 | 21.5 | .11 | 4.5 |
As I've mentioned elsewhere, I think Brown looks more promising in New England. Better passing game, better attitude probably (at least for a year), better offense. I don't love the player, but he's been pretty good. He has more competition for targets in New England, but then again DeVonta Smith is also better than any of the wide receivers New England can put on the field.
June 1st is the day that Brown can be traded and the Eagles can spread the cap hit over multiple seasons. That's a week away. Hopefully we'll have closure on this saga at that time.
--Andy Richardson
