The final question of A.J. Brown’s meet-and-greet with the New England media was an innocuous one: How much do you have left in the tank?
“You’ll see,” he said, smiling on Tuesday afternoon in the new press workroom. Then he exited stage right, basking in the glow of a hell of a walk-off line. But that is the big question, isn’t it? Are reports of Brown’s demise premature, or are there enough data points to raise a red flag or three about the acquisition, the cost, and what the future may hold?
I am firmly in the camp of a big season loading for the soon-to-be 29-year-old. I write that while also acknowledging that there is evidence of some decline. I also view this “union” as essentially a two-year deal. Anything beyond that would be gravy in my humble estimation. But to illustrate points on both sides, let’s dig into the numbers.
The good comes courtesy of NFL Research and is indicative of the type of synergy Mike Vrabel and company are hoping to create between Brown and Drake Maye. Last year, Maye thrived in all areas, but on go balls, posts and slants, the third-year pro was 2nd in completion percentage, 1st in passing yards per attempt, 1st in passer rating and tops in success rate. Guess who has the most yards running those routes since 2022? You guessed it; it’s Brown.
Meanwhile, the returning Pats wideouts who garnered significant playing time: Mack Hollins, Kayshon Boutte (not for long) and Pop Douglas – have forced just 19 missed tackles over the last two seasons, combined! (Yes, I just used an exclamation point and no, I’m not very happy about it.) That netted out to 147 yards off those misses. If you want to throw in the newly acquired Romeo Doubs, he’s got a little more wiggle (9 forced misses), but he only added 35 yards total in those instances. Bottom line, even including Stefon Diggs, Kyle Williams and Efton Chism, the Pats were bottom-5 in the league in this stat.
During that same timeframe, the 6’1”, 225-pound (ish) Brown forced
