Patriots WR A.J. Brown turned in what Mass Live's Mark Daniels called his best practice of training camp Wednesday. It's probably no coincidence that it came against his former team, the Eagles. Brown caught all 7 of his targets, including "multiple highlight-reel catches," per Daniels.
Patriots WR A.J. Brown has continued to find success as the newest member of the Drake Maye passing attack, catching all 4 targets thrown his way on the ninth day of training camp, per The Boston Herald’s Andrew Callahan. That comes just a day after he dislocated his left thumb.
Patriots WR A.J. Brown dislocated his left thumb in Monday's practice but reportedly did not miss any time for it.
The Patriots plan to increase their offensive pace this season, which will be their second under OC Josh McDaniels (for his latest stint, that is). Last year's offense ranked third-slowest in the league at 30.6 seconds per play. They ranked 24th in 2021 (29.6 seconds), McDaniels' previous most recent Pats season. Before that came a No. 20 ranking in 2020 after eight straight seasons of finishing inside the top 12:
New England's renovated WR corps will be interesting to watch throughout the summer, and the first days of camp have already supplied some interesting notes. A.J. Brown, for one thing, has reportedly gotten off to a slow start in his connection with QB Drake Maye. According to Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald, Brown caught just three of 10 passes from his new QB through Tuesday's workout, limited to the short range. Kayshon Boutte, meanwhile, "has been a highlight machine" despite running fourth among Pats wideouts. Romeo Doubs and DeMario Douglas have joined Brown as the top three.
The Eagles are finally sending WR A.J. Brown to the Patriots for a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-rounder, according to multiple reports. The deal is pending a Brown physical, of course, but has been expected for months now. ESPN reports that waiting until June 1 allowed the Eagles to split Brown’s $40 million cap hit between this year and next. (NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo calls it $43 million, with $27 million of that on the team’s 2027 cap.)
According to Mike Reiss of ESPN, Patriots WR Kayshon Boutte is currently not attending voluntary workouts with the Patriots, instead working out away from the facility. This could be an indication that trade rumors from SI’s Albert Breer about Boutte being available for a fifth- or sixth-round draft pick could be accurate. WR A.J. Brown is still expected to be traded from the Eagles to the Patriots after June 1st according to Adam Schefter of ESPN, which could push Boutte out with WRs Romeo Doubs, DeMario Douglas, Mack Hollins, Kyle Williams, and Efton Chism III completing the current WR room.
The Philadelphia Eagles selected USC WR Makai Lemon with the 20th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Lemon looks like one of the safest prospects in the draft. The film, production, and metrics all suggest he’s an NFL-ready receiver with early-impact potential. The 2025 season erased any remaining doubt. Lemon earned unanimous first-team All-America honors and claimed the Biletnikoff Award as the top FBS receiver after leading all Power Four WRs with 1,156 regular-season yards. He tallied a massive 3.13 yards per route run, tying him for fourth among 105 WRs with at least 80 targets.
The Eagles continue to discuss an A.J. Brown trade, and the Patriots remain highly interested in acquiring him. Brown has been at the center of trade rumors for most of the offseason, but his contract made a pre-June 1st move unlikely. Now, with both sides interested in a deal, Brown appears likely to head to New England as Drake Maye's long-term No. 1 WR.
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