A.J. Brown Just Gave Patriots Fans Another Reason To Believe

With a strong endorsement from a former champion, newly traded AJ Brown is set to raise the stakes for the Patriots' wide receiver lineup.

Danny Amendola didn’t need long to get a read on A.J. Brown.

The former Patriots receiver, a two-time Super Bowl champion in New England, met Brown for the first time recently and watched him go through practice. What he saw was enough to leave him convinced that the newest Patriots wideout is already changing the tone in the room.

“I talked to him today. First time I met him, great dude.

I wanted to see how he works in practice, and I think he got 25 plays today. Probably caught six or seven balls.

You can really feel the standard elevate in that room when he steps on the field,” Amendola said. “These guys have playoff experience, Super Bowl experience, so they know what championship level of communication, championship level of execution looks like.

He's really elevated the group, which is exciting for me to see.”

Amendola also shared the greeting he gave Brown when they crossed paths.

“I just said, “Welcome to England, man. Huge fan, and stay healthy and ball out.”

He gave me a big A.J. Brown smile, and seems like a great dude,” he continued.

“He's got a great head on his shoulders, and I'm excited for him to be here in Foxborough.”

New England traded for Brown with a clear goal in mind: help the Patriots chase a Super Bowl title. With Drake Maye now in place at quarterback, the next job is to give him enough help around him to make that push realistic.

Brown is supposed to be a major part of that plan. The Patriots see him as the kind of big-play receiver who can tilt games, and Amendola’s first look at him in practice only reinforced that belief. Now the pressure shifts to Brown to back up the buzz and become a central piece of the next Patriots offense.

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