Julian Edelman didn’t hesitate when he looked at what A.J. Brown could mean for the Patriots. In his eyes, New England may finally have the kind of receiver who changes everything for a young quarterback.
That’s the big picture behind the move: if Drake Maye is the guy, the Patriots have to arm him like it. Brown gives them the kind of true No. 1 target that can reshape an offense, and Edelman said the comparison point is about as lofty as it gets.
“A.J. Brown, that’s a 1A.
A real 1A. They probably haven’t had someone like that since Randy Moss,” Edelman said on the 'Patriots Talk' Podcast."
Drake taking control out there and having a lot more weapons. Bringing in Romeo Doubs.
The new tight end [Eli Raridon] looked big. I like the additions they brought in.”
Brown’s production makes the argument easy to understand. Even in what the source described as a down year, he still cleared 1,000 receiving yards, doing it in an offense that didn’t maximize him, with an unproven play-caller and a quarterback who didn’t fully lean into his skill set.
That’s where Maye changes the equation. The Patriots quarterback has already shown strong anticipation and a clean ability to put the ball in stride, and unlike Jalen Hurts, he can work the middle of the field efficiently. That opens the door for Josh McDaniels to use Brown across his full route tree instead of fitting him into a narrow role.
And then there’s the raw physical mismatch Brown brings. His catch radius and ability to haul in nearly everything in his neighborhood should make life a lot easier for Maye. A season in the range of 1,500 receiving yards and 8-10 touchdown grabs was presented as a reasonable possibility.
Still, the comparisons come with a warning label. Brown is excellent, but the source made clear he still has a way to go before he belongs in the same conversation as Randy Moss. And Maye, for all his promise, isn’t Tom Brady.
Even so, the outlook for the Patriots’ passing game points up. Maye should be more comfortable in his second training camp under McDaniels, and Brown’s impact has already shown up in joint practices. In a place where the standard is always sky-high, Brown arrives with the confidence and violence of a receiver who expects to win one-on-one.
In Other News...
Patriots May Have Just Revealed Their Safest Roster Spots
Ahead of the Patriots preseason finale against the Browns, Mike Vrabel made the most telling roster move of the week before a snap was even taken: no starters were going to play. With several notable receivers and tight ends already spotted on the sideline in street clothes, the message was hard to miss. This was less about evaluation in the final exhibition and more about confirming what the staff already seems to know about who belongs on this team.
For a roster still headed toward final cuts, those absences offered a useful peek at the safest spots on the depth chart. When a coaching staff chooses caution over one more look in August, it usually means the competition has already started to narrow in other areas. The Patriots still have decisions to make, but the way they handled the Browns game suggested some of the clearest answers may already be in place. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Roster Cuts Put One Group Of Players In Real Danger
The Patriots are in the thick of roster-cut season, and the most vulnerable names are the young players who do not have enough NFL service to avoid the waiver wire. New England must trim from 90 to 53 by the Aug. 30 deadline, which means a wave of moves is coming fast, and for anyone with fewer than four years in the league, release day does not end the story. Those players have to pass through waivers first, giving other teams a chance to swoop in before the Patriots can even think about bringing them back.
For vested veterans, the path is different, since they become free agents immediately if New England lets them go. The real tension for the Patriots is not just who survives the cuts, but who becomes available to the rest of the league along the way, especially with waiver priority still tied to the current draft order. As the front office sorts out the final roster, the next few days could turn a few marginal decisions into roster losses elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Roster Battles Suddenly Feel Bigger After Flat Preseason Finish
The Patriots closed out their 2026 preseason with a 37-13 loss to the Browns, a game that mostly featured backups and rookies with many of New Englands starters sitting out. Cleveland put 27 points on the board in the first half, leaving the Patriots to spend one last August night sorting through depth-chart questions rather than building much momentum.
Kyle Williams at least kept giving the staff something to think about, with the second-year wide receiver finding the end zone in each of the teams three preseason games. Even in a preseason finale that turned flat quickly, performances like that tend to linger as the roster decisions tighten, especially for players trying to turn late-summer production into a real role once the games count. [Read more 🡒]