PATRIOTS NEWS OFFICIAL: Patriots Finally Acquire AJ Brown

[borisman]

Execs, coaches, scouts rank top NFL wide receivers for 2026​

AJ Brown in the top 10? You bet. But just behind Nico Collins?

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/49252915/ranking-nfl-top-10-wide-receivers-2026-execs-coaches-scouts

I didn't want to start a new thread about this but go ahead if you think it warrants it.

 

[Rob0729]

I want to know who voted for Collins as the third best WR in the NFL. Even in his best year, he wasn't the third best.

 

[TheRainMaker]

Nacua, Collins and Adams are way too high, but there isn't much to choose from the rest. Jamison should've made the list. No mention of Courtland Sutton?

Some of these lists are pretty whack from the execs, coaches and scouts. The off ball LB list shows how much of drop off in the quality of players. That list is brutal. Robert Hunt has no business even being mentioned for interior lineman.

 

[PatsFan2]

Nacua, Collins and Adams are way too high, but there isn't much to choose from the rest. Jamison should've made the list. No mention of Courtland Sutton?

Some of these lists are pretty whack from the execs, coaches and scouts. The off ball LB list shows how much of drop off in the quality of players. That list is brutal. Robert Hunt has no business even being mentioned for interior lineman.

Seeing Pickens in another uni makes me sick: because we could have originally Drafted him. It's said on the Cowboys he's better than Lamb who's also considered a #1. What could have been BB selecting Bony Thornton over Alec Pierce and Pickens... a blind man wouldn't mess that up egregious.

 

[Thelonious]

A couple of hopeful signs. AJ is now walking without a cane, and the AARP has named him Senior of the Month.

 

[BUSTAMOVE]

Seeing Pickens in another uni makes me sick: because we could have originally Drafted him. It's said on the Cowboys he's better than Lamb who's also considered a #1. What could have been BB selecting Bony Thornton over Alec Pierce and Pickens... a blind man wouldn't mess that up egregious.

Move on
Pickens is an Anal Cancer.

 

[TommyD4207]

Seeing Pickens in another uni makes me sick: because we could have originally Drafted him. It's said on the Cowboys he's better than Lamb who's also considered a #1. What could have been BB selecting Bony Thornton over Alec Pierce and Pickens... a blind man wouldn't mess that up egregious.

George Pickens is a lunatic.

 

[captain stone]

Seeing Pickens in another uni makes me sick: because we could have originally Drafted him. It's said on the Cowboys he's better than Lamb who's also considered a #1. What could have been BB selecting Bony Thornton over Alec Pierce and Pickens... a blind man wouldn't mess that up egregious.

After doing the Exact Same Thing 3 years earlier...

Clown Drafter.

 

[woolster22]

Yeah, he adds an element we didn't have last year. I'm all for keeping Boutte too but he doesn't get the separation that Brown does.

Boutte will see much better match ups with brown and the onside kick blowing space balls helmet fella in town.

 

[jimnance]

Good to hear Maye hosted Pats' receivers last week for 3 days in NC.
Of course, Brown was there.
Chemistry is building.

 

[VrabelJr]

Guy hasn’t run a route for the Pats yet and we’re defending him to death in some rando sports journalists pre-season rankings that he probably came up with over text while taking a dump.

I love this hell hole. Pats fans for life.

 

[JoeSixPat]

Guy hasn’t run a route for the Pats yet and we’re defending him to death in some rando sports journalists pre-season rankings that he probably came up with over text while taking a dump.

I love this hell hole. Pats fans for life.

As Parcells would say, don't put him in Canton just yet!

But that being said, he gets more separation than Boutte did on a routine basis, and costs about as much as it would have taken to keep Diggs on his contract ($28 mil) so for a true #1 WR (which even Diggs acknowledges he no longer is) he's actually on a pretty decent contract with a half dozen other WRs getting $35 - $42 million a season

Still, let's see how he plays. The team seems to be moving away from what worked well last year in spreading the ball around the field, and I expect he's going to get 50% more targets than Diggs ever did, which means fewer targets for our other WRs, and is going to make our offense much more predictable for Ds

Now, can they defend Brown 1 on 1? Will they have to double team him or commit their S to focus on him? Yes - but that might not matter if we're sending 150 targets his way a year when his double coverage may leave someone else open. And while I'd suggest to Josh that they can continue that spread offense, taking advantage of what having Brown on the field will do to the Ds, I think Brown would be *****ing if he's not getting the looks and stats he wants.

Let's hope he wants to win more than get bigtime fantasy football stats, but I don't peg him as that type of player.