Patriots-Eagles A.J. Brown Trade Talks Pros And Cons originally appeared on NESN.
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The New England Patriots are almost on the clock. As the calendar turns to June, the rumors of a trade for Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown are exploding online. According to NBC Sports’ Mike Florio, the expected deal “can be done and filed at 4:01 p.m. ET on June 1.”
“I was told the Patriots remain confident they can get this deal done,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports. “The sides are working on it…the Patriots are hopeful they can get a deal done shortly after the [June 1 at 4PM] window is open. They have not been overly crazy about giving up a first-round pick.”
As you would expect, talking heads around the NFL are split on whether the Patriots should give up a first-round draft pick for the 28-year-old receiver, who’s a three-time Pro Bowler.
Pros
“A.J. can still play. He would give the Patriots a legit, bona fide No. 1 wide receiver and a person in that room who can be a leader,” former Tennessee Titans general manager Ran Carthon told ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “Having the experience of playing under Vrabes [with the Titans from 2019-2021], he can also be a good purveyor of the message and teaching everyone else in the room what he is looking for.”
“When motivated, A.J. Brown is still a higher-level wideout in the league,” said Greg Cosell, the NFL Films senior producer and ESPN “NFL Matchup” analyst, to Reiss. “He’s as physical as they come. He can work between the numbers as well as any receiver in the game because of his size, hands, competitiveness and ability to catch through contact.”
“They need to do it. When you look at the Patriots receivers, they don’t have that identity. And the thing I picked up last year, no one was really afraid of them,” former Patriots safety Rodney Harrison told Reiss.
Cons
“No first-round pick is fair,” an assistant general manager told the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed about the rumors of the Patriots-Eagles trade terms. “You’re renting a declining asset. In no way should they give up a one.”
“He’s still good but closer to declining than ascending, in my opinion,” an NFC scout told Kyed. “Along with any potential volatility that may follow, but obviously, hopefully not.”
“The assistant GM believes the Patriots are bidding against themselves in a deal for Brown and that (Eagles general manager Howie) Roseman is doing everything he can to gain leverage,” Reiss reported. “An AFC director doesn’t believe the Eagles have that leverage and thinks a second-round pick is fairer compensation.”
What Brown Can Do
So what’s all the hype about? Here’s what Brown can do for the Patriots, per Reiss:
Cosell: “While he is not a burner by any means, he does have a great feel for attacking corners’ leverage and blind spots, and therefore, at times, can be a vertical dimension.”
Carthon: “Size, strength; A.J. is a guy who can win with bodies draped on him. Then if you give him the ball with space, he can run after the catch. That’s what he would bring to the group — a guy that Drake Maye could look and say ‘even when he’s covered, he’s open.'”
Harrison: “If you can add a top-five to top-seven wide receiver to your roster, that is big from an emotional standpoint. This team has gone through an emotional sore getting over the Super Bowl and then what happened with their head coach, so it would give them an emotional boost. Not only that, you get a dawg. You get a guy with an attitude that is going to affect every single wide receiver there, every player, because he is a tough guy. It gives you an identity that you can be a big, physical offense.”
Should be an interesting week for the Patriots as they resume OTAs Monday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.