Rumors continue to swirl about A.J. Brown’s time in Philadelphia coming to an end. It’s no secret that the Eagles’ WR1 has been frustrated with the lack of volume over the past two years. That, in turn, has also negatively impacted his fantasy football value. Let’s discuss a couple of potential trade partners and whether fantasy managers should be excited or nervous if Brown ends up on each particular team.
Is A.J. Brown Still Good at Football?
Brown is coming off his worst fantasy season since his rookie year. He averaged just 14.7 fantasy points per game. However, it’s not as if he got worse at football. Brown still averaged 2.14 yards per route run (anything over 2.0 is very good).
The story of Brown’s 2025 struggles can be told in a few numbers. He averaged 2.29 yards per team pass attempt. Brown remained very efficient. He also saw a 29.5% target share. That’s down from 34.5% in 2024, but in line with what elite WR1s see and Brown’s typical numbers. The issue was volume.
Jalen Hurts averaged 29.3 pass attempts per game. The Eagles were ninth in the league with a 47% neutral-game-script run rate. They simply didn’t throw a lot.
Brown obviously wants his team to win, but he also made it no secret that he wants to contribute. If the Eagles do trade Brown, it stands to reason he will go to a team that will feature him more heavily. The dude can still play.
Could the Buffalo Bills Trade For A.J. Brown?
To be clear, I am not in the business of mocking up any specific trade. This is all about logical spots for Brown to play and the potential fantasy impact.
The Buffalo Bills would certainly have to do some finagling with the salary cap top make this work. It would certainly be worth it.
The Bills are very much at risk of wasting the remainder of Josh Allen’s prime. Given his play style, Allen may very well only have three or four years left as one of the best quarterbacks in the game. Perhaps not so coincidentally, at 29 years old, that’s about how long we can expect Brown to remain an impact wide receiver as well.
Ever since parting ways with Stefon Diggs, the Bills have kind of gone down the same road as the Chiefs since trading Tyreek Hill. They got rid of their WR1 and then didn’t replace him… at all.
The lack of playmakers on the Bills’ offense outside of Allen and James Cook was quite noticeable throughout the 2025 season. Allen still made it work because he’s one of the best athletes the NFL has ever seen. Still, it would be highly beneficial if he had a true go-to target.
Brown in Buffalo would be the best realistic spot for his fantasy value. Even though the Bills are a run-heavy offense as well, the lack of an alternative in the passing game could result in a 35% target share for Brown. Even using Allen’s career low in pass attempts from this past season, that would still be roughly 160 targets.
Fantasy managers should be rooting for the Bills to make this trade. Brown’s fantasy value would increase just about anywhere other than Philly, but arguably the highest upside exists in Buffalo.
What Would Brown Look Like on the Ravens?
Is it too soon for the Ravens to acquire a guy like Brown? Their move at wide receiver has always been “past his prime, but not quite done.” Although they’ve been stress-testing that recently, with guys like DeAndre Hopkins and Odell Beckham Jr.
If Brown wants a shot at a Super Bowl, Baltimore is a nice landing spot. If he wants to feel like a true alpha, this may not be the place for him.
The Ravens have a talented WR1 in Zay Flowers. He may not be an alpha in the mold of Brown, but he just posted 1,211 yards on a 72.9% catch rate.
While the Ravens definitely could use another reliable option in the passing game, and Brown would be a great fit, the volume he needs to be a fantasy superstar once again won’t be there.
The Ravens averaged 24.8 pass attempts per game. That was dead last. And the unfortunate reality is that Lamar Jackson has never been a volume passer. That is unlikely to change in 2026.
I would argue Brown’s ceiling in Baltimore would be what he did last season in Philly. That would take him out of the WR1 conversation for fantasy.
Could Brown be Drake Maye’s New WR1 in New England?
If Buffalo isn’t the best possible destination for Brown, it’s New England. Diggs is still around, but he’s nowhere near the target hog he was in Buffalo. Amazingly, Diggs had over 1,000 yards receiving last season. It certainly didn’t feel that way.
Nevertheless, at 32 years old (he will be 33 in November), Diggs is more of a complementary piece at this point in his career. He would not be a threat to Brown’s target share.
The Patriots have a pretty deep wide receiver pool featuring Diggs, Kayshon Boutte, DeMario Douglas, and Mack Hollins. Perhaps we see more from Kyle Williams next year as well. But what they don’t have is that prototypical X receiver.
Despite being the MVP runner-up, Drake Maye’s best years are still in front of him. As he approaches his prime, a proven veteran receiver like Brown is exactly what Maye needs.
Due to their strong defense and soft schedule, the Patriots were 23rd in pass attempts, averaging 29.5 per game. However, this is not an offense that is “rah-rah, establish at all costs.” They were actually 13th in neutral game script pass rate.
Playing a more difficult schedule in 2026, New England won’t be sitting on as many second-half leads and will be in more competitive games. We could easily see an extra 2-3 attempts per game from Maye.
We saw multiple big games from Hollins and Boutte during the season. Conventional wisdom suggests those would all belong to Brown if he ends up as the Patriots’ WR1. If Brown does land in New England, he would firmly remain in the WR1 ranks.
