The New England Patriots' decision to trade a 2028 first-round pick for A.J. Brown this past offseason was risky. He was just about to turn 29 years old. He has dealt with a degenerative knee issue for most of his NFL career. And, obviously, New England gave up a real draft asset to acquire him.
So far, this decision is looking like a terrible one for the Patriots, and only time will tell if it gets better before it gets worse (spoiler alert: it likely won't).
A.J. Brown hasn't looked good, even when he is on the field
We are about halfway through the season, and Brown has played just two full games for the Patriots (he left the season opener early due to an ankle strain that sidelined him for the next four games). But not only has his lack of availability been a problem; he has been a shell of himself when he does suit up.
In three games with the Patriots, the Mississippi native has recorded nine receptions on 20 targets, 101 yards, and zero touchdowns. He has had way too many inexcusable drops, and he looked slow (the jury is still out on whether New England brought him back too soon or if this is an effort problem).
This is concerning for numerous reasons: 1) the Patriots took a risk by trading for Brown in the first place (considering they knew about his knee issue), and they have gotten zero benefits from it so far; 2) he is going to miss his sixth game of the season this Sunday as he is dealing with a flare-up in his knee, making it harder for him to build chemistry with Drake Maye and indicating this may be an even bigger long-term problem than many had expected; and 3) this entire offense is built around Brown's strengths.
A.J. Brown is supposed to elevate Drake Maye and the Patriots' offense
The biggest appeal of adding Brown to this roster is his presence as a deep threat. Maye is already one of the best deep-ball throwers in the league, and adding someone like the three-time All-Pro receiver was meant to not only elevate his individual game, but it was supposed to open up the field for everybody else on the offense to eat.
That hasn't happened yet, and we don't know if it's ever going to at this point.
Patriots fans shouldn't fully give up on him yet (again, we're only about halfway through the season; there will be plenty of time for him to rest and recover from his injuries and find his groove in this system), but there's no denying that Brown's time in New England has been brutal so far.
Add us as a preferred source on Google