A.J. Brown trade grades, concern for the Eagles offense, and why some in Boston think the Patriots overpaid

On Monday, after months of speculation and mock trades, A.J. Brown was officially traded to the New England Patriots. In return, the Eagles received a 2028 first-round pick and 2027 fifth-round pick.

The Brown news came on a day where the NFL dominated the headlines — reigning defensive player of the year Myles Garrett was traded to the Rams, wideout Odell Beckham Jr. returned to the Giants, and Super Bowl-winning quarterback Russell Wilson is set to leave football to join CBS Sports as an analyst.

Still, the conclusion of the Brown saga brought about plenty of reaction Monday night and early Tuesday morning. Here’s what members of the media — both nationally and in Boston — are saying about the veteran wideout joining the Patriots ...

It doesn’t appear there’s a clear instant winner in this deal. Of course, that can change in a couple years after seeing what Brown does in New England and who the Eagles land with their newly acquired picks. For now, however, it depends which NFL analyst you ask.

CBS Sports reporter Bryan DeArdo graded the deal a B+ for the Patriots and a C- for the Eagles. DeArdo, who noted that “criticizing Howie Roseman for a trade he just made is like criticizing Steven Spielberg before opening night,” felt the Eagles could have gotten a better haul for Brown.

“But while Roseman deserves credit for rebuilding the Eagles’ receiving corps, the fact that he was unable to get a 2027 first-round pick for Brown is baffling,” DeArdo wrote. “Back in 2022, the Packers received future first- and second-round picks from the Raiders in exchange for Davante Adams. Adams was a better player than Brown is now, but that doesn’t explain the compensation disparity.”

» READ MORE: A.J. Brown says ‘no bad blood’ with Jalen Hurts, and admits he always wanted to be a Patriot in first interview since trade

Meanwhile, ESPN reporter Seth Walder felt the Eagles won the deal, giving them an A- compared with the Patriots’ B-. Walder felt what New England gave up was “a shade on the pricey side.” He also felt the Eagles organization properly prepared for Brown’s departure.

“[The Eagles] are worse at receiver without Brown than they were with him,” Walder wrote. “But the team had been preparing for this trade: It drafted Makai Lemon in the first round of this year’s draft and traded for Dontayvion Wicks. With DeVonta Smith ascending into the clear WR1 role, the Eagles are still OK here. Using the offseason to get younger at wide receiver and then flip a veteran for a first-round pick is good team-building practice. And that future first-round pick is significant compensation for Brown given his age and down year in 2025.”

On Tuesday’s edition of ESPN’s Get Up, NFL analysts Damien Woody and Jason McCourty — both former members of the Patriots — offered conflicting opinions on how Brown’s departure will affect the Eagles offense moving forward.

“I’m hard pressed to think [the Eagles offense] is going to be better,” said Woody. “A.J. Brown is — listen, for all the noise that’s come out of the Philadelphia locker room, A.J. Brown by those stats that we showed was one of the best wide receivers in the National Football League. He was a guy that when everything hit the fan, Jalen Hurts could go look at him and go make a play.”

» READ MORE: A.J. Brown isn’t the first star Howie Roseman traded from the Eagles. Here’s how some of the other deals worked out.

As Woody referenced, there are only a handful of wideouts that boast Brown’s production year-in and year-out. Since joining the Eagles four seasons ago, just four receivers rank ahead of Brown in total receiving yards: Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase, CeeDee Lamb, and Amon-Ra St. Brown. And just 430 yards separates him from Jefferson, the NFL leader over that span.

“Now you take [Brown] out of the equation, what is this offense going to be? This offense is going to look a lot different,” Woody added. “It’s going to look a lot more Jalen Hurts underneath center. It’s going to have his back to the defense, going to play a lot more between the numbers. A lot of the passing game with the Philadelphia Eagles with A.J. Brown was outside the numbers. … Is Jalen Hurts going to be comfortable doing something that he really hasn’t been doing throughout his career?”

Meanwhile, McCourty is much more optimistic about what the Eagles offense may look like — especially since the offense was set to evolve with or without Brown after the Eagles hired new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion.

» READ MORE: The Eagles’ saga with A.J. Brown is finally over. His trade to the Patriots gives way to questions for both parties.

“I’m excited about the potential of what this offense can become,” McCourty said. “To your point, you lose a guy like A.J. Brown, you can’t understate how big that is. I do think the fact that Sean Mannion is coming over, this offense is going to look different. They’re going to have two tight ends on the field, they’re removing a wide receiver for a lot of what’s going to be out there.

“DeVonta Smith, in the absence of A.J. Brown, has put up almost 10 more yards per game, so he’s been good when A.J. Brown hasn’t been out there. He’s going to have to step up.”

It may come as some consolation to Birds fans who are mourning the Pro Bowl wideout’s departure that certain members of Boston’s local media are not overjoyed with the Patriots’ side of the trade.

“I think it’s an overpay,” NBC Sports Boston’s Michael Felger said on Monday. “[The Patriots] are the only one willing to pay it, and there’s way more risk with this player than you’ve been led to believe, or we’ve all just forgotten about. He got a bad knee, and he just quit on one of the best teams in the league.”

Brown’s lingering knee injury has become a topic of discussion during the monthslong trade saga. Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio previously reported that the Los Angeles Rams were not interested in trading for the veteran wideout due to his knee issues. During the Eagles’ Super Bowl run in 2024, Brown claims he was getting his knee drained twice a week.

» READ MORE: ‘Good business’ or an ‘improper ending’ to the A.J. Brown era? Fans and players react to the Eagles’ long-awaited trade.

Felger is also concerned with Brown’s temperament — and more so his reasoning for wanting out of Philadelphia in the first place.

“[There are] plenty of examples of guys becoming malcontents in a loser situation, it brings out the worst in them. They just want to win. They’re not surrounded by winning players or winning organizations, and so they grow frustrated and they act out. What’s A.J. Brown’s excuse? He was there four years, they made the playoffs four years, he made two Pro Bowls, two Super Bowls, won a championship, and he was miserable. Why?

“That would concern the hell out of me,” he added. “If Mike Vrabel were not here, they would not come close to this player. This is the kind of thing they never did during the meat of the Brady-Belichick years.”

» READ MORE: Good riddance: Superdiva wideout A.J. Brown’s talents couldn’t compensate for all of the headaches | Marcus Hayes

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A.J. Brown is officially an Eagle no more! We knew the move was coming for weeks, if not months, but that doesn't make the departure of the Pro Bowl wide receiver and Super Bowl champion any less jarring. The Philadelphia Inquirer's Jeff McLane and David Murphy react to general manager Howie Roseman's trade with the New England Patriots. Listen here.

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