How is AJ Brown the Perfect Fit in New England? Let Me Count the Ways.

Earlier today I was on Dirty Water with Hogdale and Mut, and among other aspects of the AJ Brown trade, we talked about the inevitable negative reaction among some people to the trade. 

And part of the point I made was that if you really want to evaluate a team like the Patriots taking such a huge swing, it helps to look at it from the point of view of the rest of the league. I mean, it's one thing if the Boston sports radio shows are so desperate for content, with the two winter teams going one-and-done and the Red Sox being the Platonic Ideal of an irrelevant baseball team, that they turn this into Panic Porn. That's what they're going to do just to have something to fill four hours of sport talk in between ads for divorce lawyers. 

But to make the most sense of the deal, consider how this is being received around the NFL. Picture being a Bills fan, and having to process how Drake Maye now has AJ Brown to work with. Imagine what Sean Payton is thinking, picking up Jaylen Waddle, only to see Mike Vrabel pass him in the AFC arms race. Walk a mile in Steve Spagnuolo's moccasins, realizing he no longer has Trent McDuffie, so he's got to line up a rookie (Mansoor Delane) and a second year corner (Nohl Williams) opposite Brown, Romeo Doubs, Mack Hollins, and whomever else Josh McDaniels pulls out of his toolbox. 

There's not a man, woman, or child in the NFL who's taking comfort in knowing the Patriots won't have their first round pick two drafts from now. They're just focused on the fact the best young QB in the league now has a WR room that is closer to Top 5 in the league than No. 10, thanks to this trade.  Last season was the first time in recent memory the Patriots had receivers that opposing DCs had to gameplan for. Now they've got an arsenal of weapons that is ungameplannable. And no one outside of New England can feel good about that. Which is the proper perspective to put this trade in. 

But just for fun, and to dissuade anyone who's tempted to buy into the media negativity, let's count the reasons Brown is just a perfect fit in Foxboro. 

Brown wants to play for Mike Vrabel. 

Say what you will about how disgruntled Brown was in Philly, playing in Kevin Patullo's slop offense.

That is not only not going to be the issue here, he wants to play for the coach who brought him into the league:

Pro Football Talk - New Patriots wide receiver A.J. Brown couldn’t be happier to reunite with head coach Mike Vrabel. …

“When I first got to Tennessee he was extremely tough on me, and I didn’t really understand what he was trying to do,” Brown said. “Obviously he was trying to push me to become the player I am today, but he was just so tough. I remember a conversation, I was talking to him, like, ‘You don’t have to humble me. I came from humble beginnings.’ I just never understood, he stayed on me all the time.”

Brown said that as he spent more time with Vrabel, he began to learn that Vrabel was hard on him because Vrabel genuinely wanted to get the best out of him.

“He was holding me accountable, and we grew close over the years,” Brown said.

Vrabel is that tough teacher who pushed you, intimidated you, even scared you, but who got the best out of you. (Mine was legendary Weymouth English teacher Alma Driscoll, who terrified me like Professor Snape. But by God, to this day I know my gerundial phrase from my onomatopoeia.) Older Pats fans will remember the way Terry Glenn responded to Bill Parcells's tough love, even re-signing with Tuna when he got the job in Dallas. This is the same dynamic, except Brown is twice the receiver Glenn ever could've hoped to be. 

Brown wants to play in New England. Always has. 

He didn't merely shoot his way out of Philly. He shot his way into Foxboro. In fulfillment of a childhood wish. And I can all but guarantee that visitors to his house have to follow NHL locker room rules. No stepping on the logo. 

McDaniels has a history of getting the most out of highly talented receivers, even when they're new to his system.

I could cite other examples of McDaniels either establishing receivers on his watch, reestablishing them, or coaching them up to their best seasons. Jakobi Meyers with the Patriots and again in Las Vegas. Julian Edelman's 1,000-yard season, in 2019. Stefon Diggs getting 1,000 last season. Just what you'd expect from an OC who led the Pats from the league's 30th scoring offense in 2024 to the 2nd most points last year. 

Brown and Maye are perfect system fits for each other.

Both love the deep ball:

Since 2022, on passes of 20+ air yards, Brown has the fourth most receiving yards since 2022. That despite having Jalen Hurts throwing to him. Last season, Hurts was 24th in the league in completion % on such throws. Maye was 4th. Maye's accuracy made Diggs one of the best downfield receviers in the league (2nd in catch % with 69.2%) and made legitimate deep ball threats out of Kayshoun Boutte (141.4 passer rating when targeted, 2nd highest) and Pop Douglas (13th best 128.2) in the NFL. Fun fact: Romeo Doubs was in the Top 25 at 114.4.

And both excel against man coverage:

In short, each of these two are very good at what the other is very good at. Which happens to be the things you have to be good at to excel in this league. If this was a 1960s spy movie, they'd each produce the roughly-cut half of the same playing card, which signifies they are the other's secret contact. That they're working together, and this was meant to be. 

And it's taken all of one practice for them to start building up that trust that's going to topple regimes:

What a time to be alive. Dynasty 2.0 is already upon us. I hope the rest of the world enjoyed 2019-2024 while it lasted. Because this team is going to be contending for Super Bowls for a long time to come.