The One Stat That Shows A.J. Brown’s “Down” Year Was Still Elite

Let’s get one thing straight about A.J. Brown’s final season in Philadelphia. The outside noise painted it as a down year. Lower yardage than his previous few seasons. No Pro Bowl nod. The narrative wrote itself before anyone actually looked at the tape.

But dig into the advanced numbers and a different story emerges. According to ESPN Analytics, Brown ranked top 16 among all wide receivers in three critical categories: getting open, catching the ball, and yards after the catch. Only one other receiver hit those same marks across the board in 2026. That was Rams standout Puka Nacua. That’s the company Brown kept even in a season that supposedly disappointed.

What the Stats Actually Say

Brown finished with 78 catches for 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns. Sure, the yardage was his lowest since 2021. But here’s the thing nobody mentions: he’s now put up seven touchdown catches in three straight seasons. His reception total actually went up from 2024. And he did all this while dealing with the kind of defensive attention that comes with being the clear No. 1 option.

The Patriots clearly saw what the box score skeptics missed. That’s why they gave up a first-round pick to bring him to New England. If you plug Brown’s 2025 numbers into the Patriots offense from last season, he would have ranked second in both receptions and receiving yards. The only guy ahead of him in those categories? Stefon Diggs, who is no longer on the roster. Brown also would have tied for the team lead in touchdowns.

New England needed a true WR1 for Drake Maye. They had the cap space, they had the draft capital, and they had a rising star quarterback who needed a reliable target. The Patriots decided Brown was worth the price regardless of what the national media was saying about his Philly exit.

There will be scrutiny. That comes with the territory when you leave a Super Bowl contender and the Eagles decide to move on. Brown will be under a microscope in Foxborough, especially early in the season when people are looking for reasons to say the Patriots overpaid.

But if his underlying play stays where it was in 2025, New England won’t have any regrets. The numbers suggest Brown didn’t fall off. He just got judged by a standard most receivers never reach.