Eagles
Hey have you heard AJ Brown might demand a trade? Probably yes, it’s going to be a leading talking point of offseason. While I’m on the record saying I don’t want to trade him, there’s not much you can do if he eventually holds out. Here we’ll talk about how the grass isn’t always greener and why holding onto AJ Brown is the wiser decision.
AJ Brown has a strong case for the best receiver in Eagles history. In his first two seasons he set back to back franchise records for yards in a season. Yes, it is important to note that he had an extra game (17) compared to Mike Quick (16) and three more than Terrell Owens (14). These two plus Harold Carmichael are players that would have an argument against him.
Carmichael was with the team for a long time and is #1 in total yards for the franchise. He also played from 1971 – 1984 so I’m confident in saying that we have better athletes nowadays than shortly after we went to the moon. T.O. was only with the team for two years before his famous crash out and going to the rival Dallas Cowboys. Just going from Philly to Dallas on your on decision making is good enough for me to leave you off an all-time Eagles player list. While Mike Quick does have a lot of flashy single season records the truth is AJ Brown is around 1,400 yards away from passing his totals. Reminder that in each of his first two seasons he had over 1,400.
The Eagles franchise isn’t know for their Wide Receivers prowess especially through the draft. Listen I grew up in the truly dark age of Eagles Wide Receivers. I can highlight it by saying that I was a Todd Pinkston believer when I was growing up. Sure he was terrified of getting hit after the catch that his co-workers catch. Every now and then though he would fly down the field and make a beautiful catch. Then again the top autofill when I type in YouTube “Todd Pink…” is “Todd Pinkston alligator arms,” so that’s definitely nostalgia talking. You can ignore the highlights I was going to try and bias you like I was as a kid.
Sure there are the exciting picks like when the Eagles drafted Jeremy Maclin, Desean Jackson, and recently Devonta Smith. These are definitely more of an exception to the rule than a standard norm. For every good player there’s a Jalen Raegor, JJ Arcega-Whiteside, Mack Hollins, Quez Watkins, John Hightower, and Nelson Agholor (although he was a contributing factor on the team that won the Super Bowl). The truth is that you can’t just assume you’ll draft a better player. Even the records for Eagles receivers is fairly bleak.
Looking historically at the Eagles receiving leaders also should show you how transformational AJ Brown has been. He’s already 9th overall for total yards with the franchise and only three players above him are technically Wide Receivers. One of them played the position of “Flanker” which sounds more like a soccer or military term but honestly should be brought back. To explain it, it’s the slot receiver so they’re a wide receiver but line up off the line. There are also just as many players from the 60s that played both sides of the ball. The other two are tight ends. Not exactly a star-studded line up when it comes to Eagles receivers.
Thanks for taking a look back at the Eagles wide receiver position group with me. Hopefully you are more tolerable of AJ Brown’s antics considering the dark history at the position.
Photo Credit: Kara Durrette
Pro Football Reference sites for Eagles receivers lists. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/phi/single-season-receiving.htm https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/phi/career-receiving.htm
Hello, I’m a greater Philadelphia native writing mostly about the Eagles and the rest of the NFL. Articles aren’t … More about Kyle Lavin
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