Admire NFL teams that go all-in on a season to try to win the Lombardi Trophy. The New England Patriots joined those ranks with their seismic-level trade for A.J. Brown. If you want to be the best, you need to add the best.
Brown is one of the NFL's best receivers. Now, Patriots' Hall of Fame receiver, Julian Edelman, in an interview on "The Herd with Colin Cowherd", suggests his impact on the Patriots' locker room will be akin to that of Pro Football Hall-of-Fame receiver, Randy Moss.
Edelman doesn't compare Moss and Brown as players. He acknowledges they are different. Yet he still believes that the receiver's impact on his teammates will be similar to Moss's and will be a positive force for the entire offense.
When a team has a quarterback like Drake Maye on hand (whom Edelman has also highly praised), the sky is the limit.
"When you get a guy like A.J. Brown instantly everyone's job becomes easier."@colincowherd and @Edelman11 talk about how Brown will impact the Patriots offense pic.twitter.com/9zA8x4ZWCG
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) June 2, 2026
Julian Edelman has lofty expectations for A.J. Brown's impact
Julian Edelman further commented in that interview on the importance of adding a No. 1 receiver like Moss or A.J. Brown to the team has on its other receivers.
“Like, when you’re a young player and you sit in that meeting, Randy didn’t have to say anything. You almost didn’t want to let him down because you saw how his practice was, you saw the examples that he was giving. Any time that you had an example as a young football player, if the coaches put you on coaching tape, you would look over at Randy because you wanted his approval...
I think this is going to be an awesome addition for them...By no means am I calling him Randy [Moss], I think they’re different types of players. But, when you get a guy like A.J. Brown everybody’s job becomes easier in that room.”
Being hailed as such a force by one of the Patriots' all-time great receivers is high praise indeed for Brown. Edelman is not only a Patriots Hall of Famer but should also be voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. With his long career, Edelman is one of the Patriots' best all-time receivers, though Moss, in three seasons in New England, also had an earthshattering impact on the team.
Doomsayers who trashed the trade because the Patriots gave up a first-round pick in 2028 are to be dismissed out of hand. The Patriots pilfered Brown from the Eagles for future draft picks in 2027 and 2028, a steal that qualifies as grand theft larceny.
The 2027 fifth-round pick will have zero impact on the 2026 season, and the 2028 first-rounder will have no impact on either 2026 or 2027. The only season in the NFL or any other league that matters is the one right in front of you. All others are illusions. The key to the entire deal is that A.J. Brown helps the Patriots now.
The New England Patriots have one of the NFL's best quarterbacks and arguably its best passer now in Drake Maye. Not affording him both a top-echelon offensive line (which remains questionable for 2026) and a top complement of receivers (which they arguably have done this offseason) is akin to football personnel negligence.
Drafting outstanding pass-blocking offensive tackle Caleb Lomu in the first round and then trading for Brown were two massive steps in the right direction. They indicate that the Mike Vrabel-led Patriots are on a straight path to the next generation of Super Bowl wins.
Trading for A.J. Brown will be a major factor in achieving their next tranche of success. The trade for Brown is an absolute steal and will prove to be a massive difference-maker for the Patriots.
Add us as a preferred source on Google