A.J. Brown Trade Finally Goes Down: Patriots Reportedly Get Star WR From Eagles

Another big trade has gone down in the NFL on Monday. 

The New England Patriots have agreed to a deal to land the star wide receiver from the Philadelphia Eagles, ESPN reported. New England will reportedly surrender a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick to Philadelphia in order to acquire Brown. 

Brown’s desire to leave the Eagles had been building since last season, with the Patriots widely being speculated as the top landing spot for him over the last few months. He was largely fueled by frustration with the Eagles' offense’s inconsistency in 2025, making multiple comments about the matter last year. He told fans to "get rid" of him if they had him on their fantasy football team at one point, and that playing "Madden NFL 26" was the only way to find "highlights" of him. 

As Brown expressed his frustrations, the 2025 season was his least productive in his four years with the Eagles. He narrowly surpassed the 1,000-yard mark, finishing with 78 receptions for 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns. The 1,003 receiving yards Browns had were his fewest in a single season since his final year with the Tennessee Titans in 2021, a year in which he played just 13 games. 

Brown will now reunite with his former Titans head coach, Mike Vrabel, who is coming off his first season with the Patriots, during which he led the team to a Super Bowl appearance. Brown and Vrabel enjoyed some strong success together over their three seasons in Tennessee, helping the Titans make the playoffs in all three years. They also reached the AFC Championship Game when Brown was a rookie in 2019, but the Titans traded Brown to the Eagles for a first-round pick and a third-round pick in 2022. 

After falling short in Super Bowl LX, the Patriots have been active in reshaping their wide receivers room this offseason. They released Stefon Diggs, who led the team in receiving yards last season, but signed former Green Bay Packers standout receiver Romeo Doubs. They also signed veteran guard Alijah Vera-Tucker and used their first-round pick on Utah offensive tackle Caleb Lomu to help bolster their offensive line and protect quarterback Drake Maye, who finished second in MVP voting last season. Defensively, New England's notable additions include safety Kevin Byard and defensive lineman Dre'Mont Jones. 

Still, the Patriots lacked a clear No. 1 wide receiver prior to their trade for Brown. FOX Sports NFL writer Ralph Vacchiano recently ranked New England's supporting cast around Maye 16th in the league, noting that a deal for Brown would change the Patriots' ranking.

"He’s the No. 1 receiver the Patriots thought they were getting in Stefon Diggs last season, only he’s bigger and four years younger," Vacchiano wrote. "New England's strength is in the potent 1-2 RB punch of TreVeyon Henderson and Rhamondre Stevenson. But the real key for this team will be the offensive line. It improved from 2024 yet still gave up a ridiculous 47 sacks in the regular season and a record 21 in four playoff games."

But even before the trade for Brown, most analysts have been bullish on the Patriots heading into the 2026 season. Following their 14-3 2025 campaign, Vacchiano put the Patriots at No. 7 in his most recent power rankings, although he thinks their tougher schedule will likely lead to a few more losses this year.

"They have basically the same brutal schedule as the Bills, only more home games toward the end," Vacchiano wrote. "So why did they drop behind them? Because the Patriots aren’t used to a slate like that. And their coach has been a bit … um … distracted."

As for the Eagles, their moves this offseason indicated that Brown would likely get traded. They signed veteran receiver Marquise "Hollywood" Brown and traded for receiver Dontayvion Wicks from the Packers. Those moves preceded what they did in the draft, trading up to select USC wide receiver Makai Lemon in the first round.

Prior to Monday's trade, Vacchiano ranked the Eagles' supporting cast around quarterback Jalen Hurts the fourth-best in the league.

"They looked so dysfunctional all last year, but it was never because of a lack of talent around QB Jalen Hurts. The truth is, Philly is still loaded on offense," Vacchiano wrote. "Saquon Barkley has 2,000-yard potential. The offensive line is the envy of most teams, despite coming off a relative down season. Dallas Goedert, as long as he stays healthy, is a reliable and dangerous tight end.

"DeVonta Smith is a worthy No. 1. In fact, he could become a top-five receiver once he’s out of Brown’s needy shadow. The Eagles also traded for Dontayvion Wicks and drafted Makai Lemon in the first round, and they signed Hollywood Brown, who is still only 28. All three wideouts could contribute a lot."

And the Eagles are still expected to contend in 2026. The two-time reigning NFC East champs were placed at No. 4 in Vacchiano's most recent power rankings.

"Take out three games against NFC West teams and their schedule is soft as butter," Vacchiano wrote. "Also, they get their two toughest games at home (Rams, Seahawks), and by the time they travel to San Francisco, the frequent-traveling 49ers should be exhausted."