It’s hard to believe we are within a week of actually seeing A.J. Brown play for the New England Patriots.
It’s not that the concept itself is all that difficult to grasp. It’s more that this moment has been rumored, speculated about, agonized over, fantasized of and bandied around New England for years (plural), and now all of that hullabaloo is about to become a reality.
From the moment the trade — aka the worst-kept secret in sports — took place on June 1, expectations for Brown were laid out around New England and beyond. Patriots fans hope for 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns being the floor for Brown’s 2026 campaign; Eagles fans are hoping both of those numbers hover close to zero.
Yet with all of those long-term projections already being cast, it’s time to try to envision what type of first impression Brown will make with his new team.
Career vs. Seahawks
Brown has only played against the Seahawks, with both games taking place in Seattle — first back in 2021 when he was with the Titans, then in 2023 with the Eagles.
On an otherwise accurate day from Tennessee QB Ryan Tannehill (he was 24-for-30 targeting everyone else), Brown caught just three of the nine passes thrown his way, finishing with just 43 receiving yards.
In 2023 — on a Monday night — Brown had more receptions with five but still had just 56 yards on 10 targets. (Jalen Hurts was 6-for-7 throwing to Philly’s three other wideouts.) After the Eagles fell behind by three points with 28 seconds remaining in the game, Hurts threw twice to Brown on the Eagles’ desperation drive. The first fell incomplete, and the second was intercepted, effectively ending the game.
So, Brown’s history in Seattle … isn’t very good.
Those games, of course, took place when Pete Carroll was Seattle’s head coach, with Ken Norton being the defensive coordinator in 2021 and Clint Hurtt running the defense in 2023. Brown hasn’t faced a Mike Macdonald defense in his career, as he didn’t face Baltimore in 2022 or 2023. He hasn’t played against Devon Witherspoon (the rookie was out with a hip injury vs. Philly in 2023) or Josh Jobe (he was a teammate of Brown in 2023), so there isn’t much history of Brown facing these Seahawks.
Eagles debut
This isn’t the first time that Brown switched teams, as he went from Tennessee to Philadelphia in a blockbuster deal in 2022. After giving up a first and a third-round pick, the Eagles immediately gave Brown a $100 million contract.
Just as they are now in New England, expectations were high for Brown in Philly four years ago. And just like this summer, fans had to wait until Week 1 to actually see Brown suit up, because he didn’t play in the preseason.
Brown went ahead and rewarded those fans for their patience by turning in one of the best games of his career and the best pass-catching debut in Eagles history. On 13 targets, Brown had 10 receptions for 155 yards. He didn’t find the end zone, as the Eagles scored four touchdowns on rushes from inside the 2-yard line, but Brown had nine more targets and seven more receptions than any other Eagles player in the 38-35 win on the road in Detroit.
Brown would end up setting a career in yards and tying a career high in receiving touchdowns that season, making good on Philadelphia’s hefty investment in him.
Week 1 history
Brown is entering his eighth season. Here’s how he fared in Week 1 throughout his career.
- 2019: 3 receptions (4 targets) for 100 yards
- 2020: 5 receptions (on 8 targets) for 39 yards
- 2021: 4 receptions (on 8 targets) for 49 yards and 1 TD
- 2022: 10 receptions (on 13 targets) for 155 yards
- 2023: 7 receptions (on 10 targets) for 79 yards
- 2024: 5 receptions (on 10 targets) for 119 yards and 1 TD
- 2025: 1 reception (on 1 target) for 8 yards
In total, he’s averaged five catches for 78 yards in Week 1, finding the end zone just twice in those seven games.
Notable Patriots debuts
Brown’s debut brings to mind some other much-ballyhooed additions to New England over the years.
That list begins with Randy Moss, who sent an alert across the league that he and Tom Brady were going to be a force in 2007 by catching nine passes for 183 yards and a touchdown against the Jets. (Wes Welker caught six passes for 61 yards and a touchdown in that one, too.)
Corey Dillon was a major addition for the Super Bowl-champion Patriots in the offseason prior to the 2004 season, but his debut was a bit understated: 15 carries for 86 yards.
Antonio Brown certainly arrived in New England with a lot of attention — good, bad, and everywhere in between — in 2019, and he caught four passes for 56 yards and a touchdown in what turned out to be his only game with the Patriots.
Nobody was expecting Rob Gronkowski to become arguably the greatest tight end in NFL history when the Patriots drafted him in the second round in 2010, but his debut was notable in that he caught one pass for one yard … and one touchdown.
The acquisition of Brandin Cooks was certainly not as big of a deal as the Brown trade, but it was still significant, as Bill Belichick didn’t exactly love giving away first-round picks. Cooks caught three passes (on seven targets) for 88 yards in his debut, a memorably ugly home loss to the Chiefs on the NFL’s opening night.
Brown’s expectations
All of that history may be fun, and some of it might be relevant. But come Wednesday night in Seattle, it’ll all be about what Brown, Drake Maye and Josh McDaniels are able to do in a brutally tough environment in Seattle.
We do know one thing: Maye loves going to Brown. At the start of just about every competitive period this summer on the practice field, Maye looked first for Brown. While the two connected on plenty of slants early in camp, Maye grew comfortable trying to let Brown win one-on-one up the sideline for some deep shots.
We also know this: Maye’s first read in the red zone will be to Brown. He’s unlikely to have a second read. The QB has certainly enjoyed targeting Brown for touchdowns. And though Maye will have to look to Romeo Doubs or Hunter Henry if Brown ends up drawing too much attention, there’s little doubt where he’ll be trying to go at the snap, as the quarterback is happy to throw up a jump ball and let Brown go up and get it.
So what’s it ultimately look like? An explosion like Brown’s Eagles debut feels unlikely, given the opponent and the environment. But he will get plenty of targets, and he’ll make an impactful number of plays. While there’s always room for variance, let’s go with this: 12 targets, five receptions, 70 yards, touchdown.
Nothing crazy. Nothing over the top. But a solid foundation for what should be an All-Pro-caliber connection between Maye and Brown this season.
