After two days of joint training camp practices between the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots, the big storyline is undoubtedly the performance of A.J. Brown.
There is not a single person present who wouldn’t agree that Brown was the best player on the field over the two days of practices. He dominated one of the best secondaries in the NFL, albeit outside of real game conditions.
Brown scored touchdown after touchdown, using his elite speed, size and hands to win every kind of rep imaginable. He hauled in contested catches in tight coverage, used agility to create space for himself in the middle of the field, and displayed the speed that helped him become of the NFL’s best deep threats.
Last year, we did not see this version of Brown, especially as the 2025 season wore on. Over his last four games, Brown averaged 57.2 yards per game, culminating in a disastrous performance in the Birds’ NFC Wild Card loss to the 49ers at Lincoln Financial Field, 23-19, in which he caught just three passes for 25 yards and had multiple drops and one screaming match with his head coach.
Last season, Brown looked slower and less athletic. It was fair to wonder if age, even though he’s just 29, was catching up to him.
In these two joint practices, those thoughts seem ludicrous.
There’s no question Brown was motivated to dominate this week against his old team. He wanted to make sure Nick Sirianni and the rest of the organization knew what they were missing.
The sad thing is, had Brown showed this kind of fire during the end of what was, admittedly, a difficult year last year, it’s fair to wonder if the Eagles would have made another long playoff run.
The offense was not good under Kevin Patullo, and the faults of the offense were obviously not all Brown’s fault. But as the season wore on last year, Brown simply stopped winning the one-on-one battles we had grown accustomed to seeing him win. He appeared worn out, tired, slower, and uninterested.
Watching him turn back the clock two years on the practice field this week makes me wonder what the offense could have looked like with a motivated Brown on the outside.
Watch the wild card game tape. It’s plain to see he went through the motions. The fire wasn’t there. Brown is still an extremely talented wide receiver, yet by the end of the season, that guy was no longer going to be making an appearance as an Eagle.
I, for one, am annoyed. The Eagles should have beaten the 49ers at least. While Brown alone didn’t cost them the game, he sure didn’t do anything to help them win. It’s annoying to know that this player was still locked inside him, but he refused to participate in an important playoff game.
He wanted out of Philadelphia, and now he’s out.
Time will tell if Brown can carry this into the regular season for the Patriots. But it’s clear to me that had this version of A.J. Brown shown up last January at Lincoln Financial Field, the Birds would have been playing at least one additional postseason game.
