What does A.J. Brown trade mean for Patriots, Eagles? Grading the deal

• The New England Patriots are acquiring wide receiver A.J. Brown from the Philadelphia Eagles.
• Brown's move to New England reunites him with head coach Mike Vrabel.
• DeVonta Smith is expected to become the Eagles' new number one receiver following the trade.

The trade everyone expected for months is finally happening.

The New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles are finalizing a trade that will send wide receiver A.J. Brown to the reigning AFC champions, the teams announced June 1. The Eagles will acquire a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-rounder for Brown.

Brown's time in Philadelphia appeared to be winding down as early as Week 4 of last season, when he began publicly airing his grievances with his usage in the Eagles' offense. Some may point to moments even earlier, like after Philadelphia's Week 14 win over the Panthers in 2024, when Brown said his team's offense needed to work on "passing."

Regardless of when the relationship between receiver and team began to fracture, the seemingly inevitable endpoint of the situation came with news of Brown's trade to New England. He'll reunite with head coach Mike Vrabel, who was his head coach with the Titans to begin his career. His arrival also boosts the floor and ceiling of the Patriots' receivers room around young quarterback Drake Maye.

Here's what the trade means for each team, including grades for the two parties involved in the (pending) blockbuster transaction:

What does the A.J. Brown trade mean for the Patriots?

New England has its new No. 1 wide receiver. The Patriots released Stefon Diggs, their top receiver from 2025, at the start of the new league year on March 11. They also signed former Packers receiver Romeo Doubs to a four-year, $68 million contract in free agency.

But even after Doubs led Green Bay pass-catchers in receptions and receiving yards last year, Brown will take precedence in the Patriots' pecking order of receivers. The former Eagle is a three-time Pro Bowler and was named to the All-Pro second team three times in his four years in Philadelphia.

In addition, Brown has surpassed 100 targets in five of his seven seasons and 1,000 yards in six of his seven years in the NFL. Doubs never saw that many targets or tallied that many receiving yards in his four years in Green Bay.

Maye finished as the NFL MVP runner-up last season despite a relatively lackluster group of receivers. Diggs had more than 1,000 yards, but he didn't reach the highs of his years in Buffalo in his return from an ACL tear. Boutte had another nice season as a deep threat, but he wasn't as valuable on passes closer to the line of scrimmage.

Brown's reunion with Vrabel gives the Patriots a dynamic receiver that works all three levels of the field and has the potential to take New England's offense – and Maye's MVP candidacy – to another level in 2026 (and perhaps beyond).

What does trading A.J. Brown mean for the Eagles?

Eagles general manager Howie Roseman appeared to be bracing his team for this trade for months. That doesn't mean they won't feel the effects of trading away a player of Brown's caliber, but Roseman has worked to mitigate them.

In free agency, Philadelphia signed receivers Marquise "Hollywood" Brown and Elijah Moore to one-year deals. In early April, the Eagles traded a fifth-round pick and a 2027 sixth-round pick to the Packers for receiver Dontayvion Wicks before signing him to a one-year extension. Then, in the 2026 NFL Draft, Roseman traded up ahead of the Pittsburgh Steelers to select Southern California wideout Makai Lemon.

After the blockbuster trade, every rostered receiver will scoot up the depth chart. DeVonta Smith immediately becomes the Eagles' No. 1 receiver – a position he occupied in 2021, the year prior to Philadelphia's acquisition of A.J. Brown – Lemon is the likely No. 2, and Wicks rounds out the projected starting trio. Hollywood Brown and Moore represent strong veteran depth behind them.

Smith appears to be the biggest beneficiary in the Eagles' offense as the new top guy in the passing game. Even when competing with A.J. Brown for targets, he's surpassed 1,000 yards in three of the last four seasons. In 2025, Smith even had slightly more receiving yards despite one fewer catch and eight fewer targets. The Eagles' No. 10 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft should have no trouble stepping back into a starring role in new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion's offense. And Lemon, coming off a 1,156-yard season for the Trojans, will slide right into Smith's old spot as the No. 2 guy.

New England Patriots trade grade: B+

The Patriots certainly needed a No. 1 receiver for their offense, and Brown was among the best they could acquire. It wasn't cheap to land the soon-to-be 29-year-old, but New England keeping its first-round pick in what is expected to be a strong 2027 NFL Draft class was a win for the organization.

Add in Brown's familiarity with Mike Vrabel and it's hard not to like this deal from the Patriots' standpoint.

Philadelphia Eagles trade grade: B

The Eagles didn't get much in present-year draft capital for Brown, but still getting a first-round selection for him is a win. Brown was disgruntled at times in Philadelphia last season and the Eagles did well to replenish their depth at the position during the offseason, so they are equipped for life without the veteran wide-out.

Still, this adds some uncertainty to an Eagles offense that was coming off a down year and will put a lot of pressure on rookie first-round pick Makai Lemon to quickly become a starting-caliber player. As such, they will earn a slightly lower mark than the Patriots, though this remains a mutually beneficial trade.

USA TODAY Sports' Jacob Camenker also contributed to this report.