A.J. Brown didn’t have to wait long to make his first mark as a New England Patriot. The wide receiver is the first Patriots player to appear on the NFL’s 2026 Top 100 Players list, coming in at No. 80 this summer.
That slot is a steep fall from where Brown stood a year ago, when he was ranked No. 29. Even so, the placement still reflects the kind of player New England just added in early June, when it acquired him in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Brown arrives with the kind of résumé that makes him an obvious fit for this kind of list. He’s coming off his fourth straight 1,000-yard season, and last year in Philadelphia he finished with 78 catches for 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns. Across his career, he has piled up 8,029 receiving yards and 57 total touchdowns, while also earning three Pro Bowl selections, appearing in two Super Bowls and winning the Vince Lombardi Trophy with the Eagles in 2024.
For the Patriots, the appeal goes beyond the numbers. Brown is one of the league’s premier deep-ball threats, and his game pairs naturally with quarterback Drake Maye. He’s expected to step into a major role in 2026, especially with the release of Stefon Diggs leaving a clear opening at the top of the receiver depth chart.
There’s also familiarity baked into the move. Brown spent the first three seasons of his NFL career with Mike Vrabel in Tennessee from 2019 to 2021, giving him a prior connection with his new head coach.
The early signs in New England have already been positive. Brown has been working with the team since arriving on June 2, and he’ll head into training camp on July 25 as the Patriots’ clear-cut WR1.
His new teammates have noticed, too. Second-year offensive tackle Will Campbell said at OTAs earlier this spring, "He's been able to do some incredible things in this league, so we're more than excited to have him."
Running back TreVeyon Henderson also made clear what Brown means to the offense, saying, "I'm glad, everyone's glad, to have him here," Henderson said. "You know, that's a huge pickup for this offense and for the team. ...
That's a big receiver. He's really talented, man.
I really love his game. I really respect the way that he carried himself off the field.
But yeah, I'm really excited to have him here."
Brown’s name is only the first Patriots one to surface on the list. The NFL’s Top 100 rollout will continue through the summer, with Maye and cornerback Christian Gonzalez also expected to be added in the coming weeks.
In Other News...
Patriots May Have No Choice But To Make This Tight End Trade
The Patriots went into the offseason knowing tight end was a position they had to address, and the plan briefly looked manageable after they added Eli Raridon for depth. Julian Hills injury changed the equation, though, and it left New England in the market for a young veteran who could help sooner rather than later as the roster takes shape after the Super Bowl loss.
One possible path is a trade, especially if a tight end sitting behind a star on another depth chart becomes available. The Raiders have reasons to listen, and New England has the kind of draft capital and young receiver talent that could help grease a deal, but the real question is whether the Patriots are willing to pay enough to get the kind of player they need at a spot that suddenly feels a lot more urgent. [Read more 🡒]
Will Campbell Just Answered A Huge Patriots Fear
Will Campbell spent the offseason around some of the leagues better offensive linemen, working with Lane Johnson, Dion Dawkins and Tyler Guyton as he tries to sharpen the parts of his game that were exposed during a rocky rookie year. For a Patriots team that used the No. 4 overall pick on him, the focus has been on helping Campbell settle in, clean up the rough edges and look more like the player they believed they were getting when they made him their left tackle of the future.
The bigger backdrop is what happened in Super Bowl LX, where Campbells performance only added to the scrutiny that had started building late in the season. There had been plenty of noise about whether his best long-term fit might be somewhere else on the line, but New England has made clear it views him as a tackle and expects him to keep working on the blindside job the Patriots drafted him to handle. [Read more 🡒]
CBS Just Gave Drake Maye Another Patriots Fans Wont Forget
CBS Sports latest quarterback rankings gave Drake Maye a respectable but still eye-catching spot in the middle of the pack, placing the Patriots young passer 16th among NFL starters and in the outlets Borderline Stars tier. For a player who led the league in completion percentage and passer rating while helping push New England to the Super Bowl, it is a reminder that the national conversation has not quite caught up to the production.
The comparison at the top of the list only sharpens the debate, with Matthew Stafford landing above Maye despite the Patriots quarterbacks standout season. CBS pointed to the difference in surrounding conditions, noting Maye took more sacks and worked with a less effective receiving corps than Stafford did, and that context will matter again as New England keeps trying to build a more complete offense around him. [Read more 🡒]