Over the past few months of the 2026 offseason, Patriots fans have been dreaming about the day that the Eagles finally traded AJ Brown to New England, and now that the deal has officially been announced, the photoshopped images of the receiver in the Patriots' uniform are no longer needed, and No. 11 will be donned once again.
Or, at least that's what we all thought.
Because he's worn that number throughout his NFL career, the assumption was that Brown would stick with it in Foxboro, especially since he grew up a Patriots fan and could use it as a way to pay homage to Julian Edelman, one of the most famous No. 11s in team history.
Instead, whether he just wanted to start fresh or maybe he actually didn't want to pick up Edelman's old number, Brown has chosen to wear No. 1, which hasn't been used since 2024 draft pick Ja'Lynn Polk was still on the team.
We'll have to see if he provides any reasoning behind the jersey change, but for now, it might be fair to assume a few things are true: Brown wanted to create his own legacy in New England with a fresh number and didn't want to infringe upon what Edelman accomplished during his storied career.
Even better is the premise that he has decided to wear the number of the player the Patriots chose in the 2019 draft over him.
AJ Brown surprises Patriots fans by not choosing to wear No. 11 on his jersey
Throughout the Patriots' history, No. 1 hasn't been worn all that often. As stated, Polk was the last one to have that jersey. Before him, it was DeVante Parker and Cam Newton, with N'Keal Harry in between.
That's the receiver that Bill Belichick decided to use their first-round pick on that year, despite nearly every analyst not assigning him a first-round label. Harry chose No. 1, and his tenure didn't go well, as he was eventually traded to the Bears just three years later.
The number doesn't have a rich history in New England, so that gives Brown a big opportunity to make No. 1 synonymous with him. What makes it even more intriguing is the history of the number with Harry, who was easily one of Belichick's biggest draft busts of his NFL career.
That feels like a more fun reason to believe he chose the number, rather than simply reverting to the one he wore during his college days at Ole Miss. It's probably the real reason for the switch, but Patriots fans would love the idea that Harry had something to do with it, too.
Regardless, Brown's jersey will sell out like hot cakes once it becomes available at the Patriots Pro Shop. He is instantly going to become a fan favorite for the foreseeable future, and the excitement about what he and Drake Maye can accomplish in 2026 and beyond is going to be something the rest of the league pays attention to.
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