Karen Guregian: Patriots finally land their missing piece in A.J. Brown, but at what cost?
· Yahoo Sports
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A.J. Brown is finally a member of the New England Patriots.
If that deal didn’t somehow come to fruition after months of speculation, the Patriots would have been left with plenty of egg on their face.
Without Brown, their receiver room wouldn’t be much better - if that - than last year. It wouldn’t be better than the receiver room that was exposed in the playoffs, a group that had trouble getting open against elite defenses.
With Brown in the huddle, the whole dynamic changes.
One of the top missions of the offseason was giving Drake Maye more help, more weapons following February’s Super Bowl appearance.
The Patriots needed to give Maye an arsenal worthy of his ability. They needed to provide more talent in the receiver room, to have a chance to be the perennial contenders they hope to be.
Landing Brown, and adding Romeo Doubs in free agency, gives the Patriots one of the best receiving corps in the NFL.
Just having Brown alone should elevate Maye. Having a receiver who can dictate coverage, get open versus man-coverage and be the go-to-guy in must-make situations will do wonders for the Patriots third-year quarterback.
Former Patriot Damien Woody, now an ESPN analyst, agreed. He put it into greater perspective.
“You get A.J. Brown, and that could take (Maye) to a whole different level,” Woody said. “Now you have a guy, a dude, when everything hits the fan, I know that guy can win 1-on-1. That’s what an A.J. Brown can do for you. He’s going to be a big plus for Drake Maye.”
Did the Patriots give up too much? Did getting that missing piece for the offense cost too much?
According to reports, the Patriots are sending a 2028 first-round draft pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick in exchange for Brown.
The first-rounder is too much, but having it in 2028 instead of 2027 is better, as the latter draft is supposedly stacked with talent.
The Patriots had to give up to get a top receiver, so it’s tough to be critical of the team making a move to help put the team over the top.
Brown has been a perennial 1000-yard receiver in an offense that’s heavily run-centric.
He figures to be that and more in Josh McDaniels’ offense with Maye pulling the trigger.
On the downside, there are legitimate concerns over his health. He’s been dealing with a degenerative knee problem for years.
That knee was reportedly the reason the LA Rams stopped pursuit.
But even with that, Brown has still been productive, and if the Patriots get at least two top seasons from him, it’ll be worth the freight.
Still, his health remains a bit of a dice roll.
Digging deeper, there are also concerns about him not being a team guy, not fitting in with the group that’s already been assembled.
Brown, like Stefon Diggs, has a reputation as being a bit of a diva.
He hasn’t been shy about voicing his displeasure with the Eagles offense, quarterback Jalen Hurts and coach Nick Sirianni. That’s part of why the Eagles would want to part with such a talented player.
The suspicion here is that won’t be a problem. Mike Vrabel, his former coach in Tennessee, should know. The Patriots coach should have a level of confidence, or else the deal would have never happened.
Coming to New England, and rejoining Vrabel should initially make Brown fall in line and not want to disrupt the proceedings.
The guess here is he’ll want to shy away from Philadelphia, and prove that his protests were valid. He won’t make any demands or want to upset what Vrabel and the Patriots have going on.
He’ll be a good soldier, which means the Patriots will be getting a motivated top receiver who would love to show he was misused in Philadelphia, even while producing four consecutive 1000-yard seasons.
Brown is a legitimate No. 1 receiver. He’s an upgrade over Diggs. He brings more to the table than the 32-year-old Diggs, who put together an 85-catch, 1,013-yard season before fading in the playoffs.
Brown is four years younger, and more explosive.
Diggs struggled against man-coverage, especially during the postseason. That won’t happen with Brown. He’ll get open against any coverage, and figures to rack up plenty of yards after catch.
While a bit of a gamble, this is still a good move for the Patriots. It’s a step in the right direction when it comes to improving the cast around Maye, who is hellbent on atoning for the Super Bowl loss.
“We want to get a get-back, kind of not feel like last year was just a one-off year and we’re trying to prove ourselves to ourselves, really, and to this football league, that we’re a tough team to beat,” Maye said last week. “We’re going to bring it every day, and I think that’s what this identity and what we’re building here is starting to become.”
Landing Brown certainly helps that narrative.
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