Two things can be true: 1) the New England Patriots likely overpaid for A.J. Brown (giving a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles in the trade), and 2) they also desperately needed to land a new top target for Drake Maye, and they weren't going to do much better than the Mississippi native.
(Also, a lot of the discourse surrounding this trade is that New England essentially outbid itself, which isn't entirely true. The Los Angeles Rams and Jacksonville Jaguars had both been linked to Brown, and had it not worked out for the Patriots, it's fair to assume other teams would have entered the sweepstakes.)
New England has a lot of talent in the receiving room (Romeo Doubs, Kayshon Boutte, DeMario Douglas, Mack Hollins, Kyle Williams), but can any of them truly be Maye's top target? Would you trust any of them to go up against guys like Pat Surtain II or Devon Witherspoon in the playoffs/Super Bowl (I would've thrown Derek Stingley Jr. in this group, but assuming Boutte stays with the team, he doesn't really apply here) and actually make a serious impact? Of course not.
The Patriots needed something they haven't had in a long, long time: a top-tier wide receiver who can take the top off the defense. They finally have that now. And unless they traded away the future draft rights to Calvin Johnson Jr., this is a deal the team should be happy about for a long time.
A.J. Brown will be huge in Drake Maye's development
New England already has its guy in Maye. Say what you will about his playoff run (even playing against top defenses every single game, surviving a snow bowl, and reportedly-but-pretty-obviously dealing with a shoulder injury, throwing for 207 passing yards per game, a 6:4 TD: INT ratio, and a 58.3% completion is far from ideal), it's clear that he has the talent and is the Patriots' quarterback of the future.
And when you have someone like that already established, it is crucial to set him up for as much success as possible by putting the right pieces around him -- which they just did by trading for Brown.
Every young quarterback benefits from having a go-to receiver/tight end. That's what helps turn them from a promising asset to an NFL star. Joe Burrow has it with Ja'Marr Chase. Patrick Mahomes had it with Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill. Josh Allen (and Maye) had it with Stefon Diggs. And, perhaps most importantly, Jalen Hurts had/has it with DeVonta Smith and Brown himself.
Plus, the 28-year-old's presence as an elite vertical threat (which should benefit Maye directly given how talented he is as a deep ball thrower) should open up many more opportunities for the rest of the offense to eat via the middle of the field and the running game.
It was important for the Patriots to find that guy for their soon-to-be third-year quarterback, especially after they moved on from Diggs this offseason. And even if it cost them a pretty penny to make it happen, they did exactly that.
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