Patriots, Eagles Grades For A.J. Brown Blockbuster Trade
June 1 included two massive blockbuster trades in the NFL.
The Cleveland Browns traded Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams for Jared Verse and draft picks, and then the Philadelphia Eagles finally traded away wide receiver A.J. Brown to the New England Patriots for draft picks.
June 1 had always been a target date for the trade talks to really pick up, as it allowed the dead cap money from Brown's deal to be split up over the next two seasons. And, on that day, it was agreed to with the Patriots sending a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick to land Brown.
Seth Walder of ESPN had grades for this deal, and both teams received decent grades. The Patriots got a B- while the Eagles got an A- in the Brown trade.
"For the Eagles, this is a solid result considering the team and player had pretty clearly reached the end of their time together. They are worse at receiver without Brown than they were with him. But the team had been preparing for this trade," Walder wrote.
"Using the offseason to get younger at wide receiver and then flip a veteran for a first-round pick is good team-building practice," Walder added. "While the 2027 picks might be slightly more valuable given the expectation of the quarterback class, picks that are two years away are not inherently less valuable than those that are one year away."
Why the Patriots Got a Lower Grade For the Brown Trade
The Patriots needed to add a true WR1 to give quarterback Drake Maye a new target, and that is exactly what Brown should be this season.
However, there are some reasons why Walder gave the Patriots a B- for this deal.
"New England should be aiming for a return to the Super Bowl, but this deal should not be thought of as a title favorite adding the final piece to put it over the top. When ESPN's Football Power Index comes out later this week, it will have the Patriots as the 12th-best team in the league entering 2026," Walder wrote.
While Brown did fill a need on the New England roster, it is worth noting that he is coming off a down year, although he still caught 78 passes for 1,0003 yards with seven scores.
"Ultimately, the question that the Patriots and Eagles surely asked themselves ahead of this trade: How much of Brown's production drop was related to his own declining skills (he'll turn 29 later this month) versus Hurts and the Eagles offense? My hunch is that the latter is more to blame," Walder added.
That last part is key. Were Brown's numbers because of his decline or the Eagles' poor offensive performance? Will having Maye throw him the ball help bring Brown back to his Pro Bowl days?
There are a lot of layers to this. In the end, the Eagles wanted to move on, the Patriots needed a big wide receiver for Maye to throw to, and now both teams can move on and focus on the 2026 season with the trade finally a done deal.
Related: Patriots Bet A.J. Brown Trade Solves Major Problem
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This story was originally published June 2, 2026 at 11:38 AM.