During his time with the Tennessee Titans, safety Kevin Byard was teammates with A.J. Brown for three seasons.
Now in New England, Byard would welcome a reunion. Brown has remained in trade speculation throughout this offseason, with the Patriots viewed as the top potential suitor.
“We trained together Tennessee… but no we honestly haven’t talked about it directly. I don’t know what the situation is there,” Byard said Tuesday. “I hope it can work. I hope he can go there and play for us, but that remains
to be seen.
“I’m just trying to get to know the guys we have here — from [Romeo Doubs] to Pop [Douglas] and all these other guys that we have here. But if we were able to get A.J., obviously he’s an incredible talent, somebody I played with. He’s a true number one receiver in this league, so that’ll be awesome to pair up with him again.”
Brown was traded from Tennessee to Philadelphia following the 2021 season. In his four years with the Eagles, Brown has posted four straight 1,000-yard seasons while earning two Pro Bowls selections and three second-team All-Pro honors.
Byard knows firsthand how Brown’s presence impacts opposing defenses — and how it could benefit the Patriots’ offense if he lands in New England.
“A number one receiver dictates coverage. Rather if it’s him being in Philly when your game planning against those guys, you still have to make sure you have the safety over top of A.J. — which obviously opens up things for a lot of other players,” Byard said.
“Dictating that coverage is a big thing with receiver ones, because if you have a really good receiver two, or a receiver three, now you can win a lot of one on ones. So, having a guy like him, or any other receiver one in this league, dictating that coverage is big for how an offense and the defense game plans.”
Brown was drafted by the Titans in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft, joining a roster where Byard had already established himself as an All-Pro.
That led to the two frequently matching up in practice, where it didn’t take long for Byard to recognize Brown’s potential.
“He was unstoppable,” he said. “Obviously A.J. is very talented still, but then, this is young A.J. with a lot to prove. Couldn’t be covered in one-on-ones. I remember, I think his rookie year when A.J. first came — I think he might have had like a hammy or something like that, and he was getting himself back into shape and things like that. But I remember the first game that he really popped out was against the Falcons in Atlanta. Scored two touchdowns.
“I recalled like a slant that he took to the house and at that point I was like, ‘Yeah, he’s gonna be a dog. He’s gonna be a really good player.’ And he basically just took off since then.”
