A.J. Brown’s 2025 Season: A Rollercoaster Ride That Leaves the Eagles With Questions
For a player as talented and physically dominant as A.J. Brown, the 2025 season was a head-scratcher - not just for fans in Philadelphia, but for anyone who’s followed his career since he arrived in Philly in 2022. Brown, one of the most explosive wideouts in the league when he's on, turned in his least impactful season as an Eagle, and the numbers - and the tape - tell the story.
Let’s be clear: 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns isn’t a bad season by most standards. But for Brown, who had previously made the Pro Bowl every year in midnight green and consistently led the team in receiving, this season marked a noticeable dip.
No Pro Bowl. No All-Pro.
And for the first time in his Eagles tenure, he didn’t lead the team in receiving. That’s not the kind of year Philly envisioned from its WR1.
A Tale of Two Halves
Brown’s 2025 campaign was the definition of volatile. He came out of the gate flat, struggling to find rhythm with the offense in the early weeks.
Over the first nine games, he managed just 38 catches for 457 yards and three touchdowns - a stretch that included some unusually quiet performances for a player of his caliber. We're talking finishes like WR100, WR97, and WR91 in fantasy scoring.
For context, that’s the kind of production you'd expect from a depth receiver, not a top-tier talent like Brown.
But then came the spark - three straight games with over 100 receiving yards. The Eagles lost all three, but it was a sign that Brown was still capable of taking over games.
He closed the season strong, hauling in 43 catches for 572 yards and four touchdowns over the final seven contests. During that stretch, he consistently performed as a WR3 or better, including a monster WR1 finish in Week 13.
So yes, the second half showed flashes of the A.J. Brown we’ve come to expect - the one who can bully corners, win contested catches, and rack up yards in bunches.
A Deeper Dive Into the Numbers
Digging into the advanced metrics, though, paints a more complicated picture. Brown’s 82.2 offensive grade from Pro Football Focus tied his career low - a mark he hadn’t hit since his rookie year in 2019.
His per-route efficiency also dipped noticeably. He posted career lows in yards per route run (1.96), yards after the catch per reception (3.3), and yards per reception (12.7).
Those are the kind of numbers that suggest a decline in explosiveness or a lack of synergy with the offense.
And then there’s the target rate - just 24.2%, the third-lowest of his seven-year career. That’s not just about Brown; it speaks to the broader inconsistency of the Eagles' passing game this season. Whether it was scheme, quarterback play, or Brown’s own performance, something was off.
What Comes Next?
Now, with trade rumors swirling, the Eagles find themselves at a crossroads. Brown is still a high-end talent - that much is clear from his late-season resurgence - but the erratic nature of his 2025 campaign raises valid questions.
Can he return to being the dominant, week-in-week-out threat we saw in 2022 and 2023? Or is this the beginning of a gradual decline as he approaches age 29?
Philadelphia has some tough decisions to make. Brown remains a cornerstone-level player when he’s firing on all cylinders, but this past season didn’t do him - or the team - many favors.
If the Eagles choose to move forward with him, they’ll need to find a way to recapture the chemistry and consistency that made him one of the most feared receivers in the league. If not, his name could be one of the biggest on the trade block this offseason.
One thing’s for sure: A.J. Brown’s 2025 season was one of the most unpredictable rides in the NFL. And whatever comes next will be just as closely watched.