It has been far too long since the Patriots have had a game-changing wide receiver leading the way on their offense, which is something Mike Vrabel wanted to change as soon as he took over as head coach last year.
It's likely what fueled the decision to sign Stefon Diggs as Drake Maye's first clear WR1, and why they moved on from the 32-year-old earlier this year to make room for the long-awaited trade for A.J. Brown, whom Patriots fans have wanted on the team since he joined the league in 2019.
As we know, Bill Belichick shockingly chose N'Keal Harry instead, and we all had to watch Brown thrive with the Titans and eventually the Eagles before he finally made his way to his childhood favorite team this offseason.
He will not take center stage as the team's first top receiver since Julian Edelman in 2020, although some would argue Brown is actually the first superstar the Patriots have had since Randy Moss in 2009.
Maybe that's more accurate, given the kind of career Brown has had thus far, and he could be the one to break a longstanding record that Moss set back in 2009, and based on what he has accomplished in his career so far, it doesn't seem too presumptious to believe he very well could do it, especially given how good his connection with Drake Maye looks already.
A.J. Brown could pass Randy Moss in one major statistic this year for the Patriots
Throughout the Patriots' dynasty, they had several incredibly talented players take the field and lead them to six Super Bowl championships.
The offense didn't always have the biggest-name superstars making an impact, but when they acquired Moss in 2007, he was the explosive game-changer that they needed and couldn't have come at a better time.
He broke record after record over the next three seasons, and although his single-season touchdown record of 23 in 2007 will likely never be touched, he is the last receiver to record double-digit touchdowns, with 13 in 2009.
That's a feat that Brown feels primed and ready to finally beat.
He hasn't reached that peak since his first season with the Eagles in 2022, when he scored 11 touchdowns in the regular season, but that's why it doesn't feel outlandish to believe he could beat that this year.
The best season of his career was 2022, when he recorded 1,496 receiving yards, and if that is a sign of what he can do in Year 1 with a new team, then believing he could achieve that and maybe more with Josh McDaniels and Maye doesn't feel far-fetched.
Making it even better would be knowing that he passed a record that has been sitting there for 17 years, too, further proving just how badly the Patriots offense needed him now and for the last seven years, if we're being honest.
It might be big shoes to fill, since Moss is not only a Patriots Hall of Famer but an NFL legend, too, but it feels like Brown is up to the task and more than capable of doing it all for the team this year, as he has a new excitement about the game and reuniting with Vrabel for the first time in five years.
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