In the NFL, you never know what could happen. Sometimes the most surprising moves can be made and other times you can see the moves from a mile away. Many NFL insiders have been predicting for a while now that A.J. Brown would be traded to the New England Patriots once the June deadline came and that is exactly what happened. On June 1st, the Philadelphia Eagles traded star wide receiver A.J. Brown to the New England Patriots for a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick. Here I will discuss how the A.J. Brown trade impacts fantasy football.
Everyone knows who A.J. Brown is. He has been a star number-one receiver for his team throughout his career. However, in 2025 there were major issues between Brown and the Eagles organization. Brown was not happy with his situation there and it seemed to influence team chemistry. Entering the offseason his status on the Eagles was one of the major topics to keep an eye on.
With questions surrounding the wide receiver’s situation, the Eagles made a statement in the 2026 NFL Draft. The Eagles traded their No. 23 pick along with two fourth-round picks (Nos. 114 and 137) to move up three spots to select wide receiver Makai Lemon from Pittsburgh. This move almost guaranteed that A.J. Brown would eventually be moved.
The New England Patriots are coming off a season in which second-year quarterback Drake Maye finished No. 2 in most fantasy football leagues while averaging 20.7 points per game on average. While putting up huge numbers, Maye also led the Patriots to a Super Bowl appearance.
With all of this offensive success last year Drake Maye must have had some incredible receivers for support right? Actually, wide receiver was one of their biggest positions of need this offseason. Stephon Diggs led the unit last year with 85 receptions for 1,013 yards, and while he put up solid numbers, he is a free agent this offseason. After Diggs the next best pass catcher was Hunter Henry with 60 receptions for 768 yards.
Drake Maye really spread the ball around last year. While Diggs put up respectable numbers, I think his production was more a result of Maye playing so well and less a product of Stephon Diggs being the player that we were accustomed to seeing earlier in his career.
A.J. Brown is an instant improvement to this team’s wide receiver room. Brown has been a top 10 fantasy football receiver in PPR leagues in two of the past four seasons and brings a different level of ability to the position than anyone that the Patriots had last season. Below is a table showing A.J. Brown’s stats in PPR leagues over the last five seasons.
| A.J. BROWN PPR FANTASY FOOTBALL STATS (FOR THE PAST 5 SEASONS) | ||||
| YEAR | GAMES PLAYED | POINTS PER GAME | FANTASY POINTS | WR RANK |
| 2021 | 13 | 13.9 | 180.9 | WR 32 |
| 2022 | 17 | 17.6 | 299.6 | WR 6 |
| 2023 | 17 | 17 | 289.6 | WR 5 |
| 2024 | 13 | 16.7 | 216.9 | WR 20 |
| 2025 | 15 | 14.7 | 220.3 | WR 11 |
As you can see, A.J. Brown has consistently put up big numbers. In 2024 and 2025 Brown missed a total of 6 games due to hamstring injuries. These absences lowered his totals, but his average points per game remained high.
The Patriots have worked hard this offseason to surround Maye with some better talent. The current front-runners for the wide receiver positions consist of A.J. Brown, Romeo Doubs, Kayshon Boutte, DeMario Douglas, Kyle Williams and Mack Hollins. The additions that have been made should provide Maye with the tools to continue to play at an elite fantasy football level and maybe even surpass what he did last season.
A.J. Brown is leaving quarterback Jalen Hurts to pair up with Drake Maye. Hurts has had his share of big-time fantasy football seasons as well. However, I believe that Brown is in a better situation with Drake Maye.
While Hurts is a very good quarterback, a lot of his fantasy production is reliant on his mobility and his ability to use his legs (and the tush push) to get into the end zone in redzone situations. He has had some very good players supporting him the last few years in A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert and Saquon Barkley. Having this supporting cast has allowed him to maximize his ability. While A.J. Brown was the number-one receiver in Philadelphia, he still shared the football a lot and was not featured as much as he would have liked to have been.
In New England, Drake Maye’s situation has not been so friendly. A.J. Brown should come in and immediately see an increase in usage. The new supporting cast in New England is better than Maye is used to, but it is not the same level of supporting cast that Hurts had in Philadelphia. A.J. Brown should see an increase in targets and as a result his fantasy numbers should see a boom this season.
It’s not just the opportunities that make this a more ideal situation for Brown. Drake Maye has an incredibly strong and accurate arm. He can make every throw and see the field very well. Jalen Hurts is a good quarterback in his own right, but Maye has the better arm to get the ball to Brown more consistently.
I have talked heavily about what this trade means to Brown, and the New England Patriots, but there are always two sides to a trade, and the Eagles didn’t just come away from this with nothing. Unfortunately, the biggest asset they received from this trade is a 2028 first-round pick, so it may take a couple of years before they truly see any positive impact from this trade. They did receive a fifth-round pick next year that will give them a shot at grabbing a steal, but the first-round pick in 2028 is the pick that gives them a true chance at grabbing a replacement impact player on either side of the ball.
A.J. Brown will be 29 years old when the season starts. The rule for receivers is that their decline usually tends to start around the 30-year-old mark. I believe Brown can be a serviceable receiver for the Patriots for the next few years, and the Eagles got a chance to get more of a long-term impact player down the road. This was a very even trade and it will be interesting to see how Brown and the rest of the Patriots are affected this upcoming season and what kind of impact player the Eagles may get with the picks they received.
See my NFL trade tracker here.
Check out more NFL related articles here.
Check out my rookie fantasy rankings here.
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