The New England Patriots took advantage of some dysfunction surrounding the Philadelphia Eagles, as they were able to get Drake Maye a true No. 1 wide receiver when they traded for A.J. Brown. In losing Brown, Jalen Hurts will play without the vertical field-stretcher and physical outside presence who helped him win a Super Bowl.
While the Patriots integrate Brown into their offense, the Eagles are left to pick up the pieces. With rookie Makai Lemon hurt and the Patriots' decision to surrender a first-round pick excluding the possibility of flipping a win-now player to Philadelphia, Hurts appears to be all out of whack without Brown.
Hurts' first pass of the mid-week OTAs was a poor throw directly to linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. that was intercepted, and he reportedly followed that up by missing a wide-open Dallas Goedert and Hollywood Brown down the field. Hurts finished the day 9-for-14 passing and earned a C- grade from Eagles beat writer Eliot Shorr-Parks, as missing Brown has warped their offensive structure.
One recent OTA session offered a glimpse of life after A.J. Brown in Philadelphia
Hurts is clearly still working out the kinks in his game. He is working with yet another new offensive coordinator after Kevin Patullo was fired and Sean Mannion was brought in.
Part of what made the Eagles so great over the last few years is that Hurts' best trait as a pure passer is his accuracy on deep shots down the sideline. It's hard to find a receiver better equipped to fill that role than Brown. His new quarterback will be able to keep his production sparkling in 2026.
In coming to New England, Brown is going to join one of the few quarterbacks who are better at deep balls in Maye. Going from Kayshon Boutte to Brown will immediately be a massive upgrade for this offense.
Brown can be a bit of an enigma, as he asked for a trade despite the Eagles losing just 20 regular season games with him on the roster and making the Super Bowl twice (winning once). However, if he left Hurts right before a decline only to land with the ascending Maye, Brown's decision to ask out could be the best move for his career.
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