The AJ Brown Revenge Game did not disappoint. The Eagles wide receiver destroyed his former team, the Titans, in Philadelphia’s 35-10 rout in Week 13, catching eight of his 10 targets for 119 yards and two touchdowns.
With that performance, Brown is up to 61 receptions, 950 yards and nine TDs in his first season with the Eagles. He’s on pace for 88 catches, 1,346 yards and 13 TDs, those latter numbers would be career highs. His 15.6 yards per catch is in line with what he did with the Titans from 2019-21.
IYER: Jalen Hurts and AJ Brown form a familiar Super Bowl-caliber combination
In a 2022 NFL offseason full of marquee moves for quarterbacks (Deshaun Watson, Russell Wilson, Matt Ryan, Carson Wentz) and other big-name wide receivers (Tyreek Hill, Davante Adams, Marquise Brown), there’s now no question that the Eagles are dealing a first-round draft pick to Tennessee for Brown was the most impactful.
Hill is having a great first year with the Dolphins and lifting Tua Tagovailoa to great heights. Adams is rocking it in his reunion with Derek Carr, one of the brightest spots in a disappointing Raiders offensive season.
But neither can compare with the Eagles getting Brown. While Hill is 28 and Adams will turn 30 in late December, Brown is only 25. That alone would be a huge reason for it being the best veteran acquisition. But consider, too Brown’s massive effect in helping improve the Eagles from 9-8 and the last NFC wild-card team in 2021 to 11-1 and the conference’s top seed in 2022.
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Brown was set up for having instant chemistry with quarterback Jalen Hurts, with whom he already had a good rapport. He has given the big-armed Hurts a much-needed field-stretcher. He has made DeVonta Smith, a first-rounder in 2021, one of the league’s most dangerous No. 2 wide receivers. And Brown’s importance as a big-bodied physical target has become more important with tight end Dallas Goedert (shoulder) on the shelf.
That’s our AJ, that’s our AJ#ProBowlVote @1kalwaysopen_
#TENvsPHI | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/65Tkqyp8VJ— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) December 4, 2022
Hill is a speed demon and delivers as a deep threat for the Dolphins. Adams is using his big frame, quickness and hands to dominate for the Raiders. Brown, at 6-1 and 226 pounds, is a mashup of both. Brown is quickly building a case for being the best wide receiver in the NFL as he begins his prime years.
The Titans did their best to replace Brown by drafting Treylon Burks (6-2, 225 pounds) with the pick they got from the Eagles. After battling a toe injury, Burks has acted like Tennessee’s No. 1 the past three weeks, He caught the Titans’ only TD pass against the Eagles on Sunday, a 25-yard strike from Ryan Tannehill, before leaving with a concussion.
Burks might be a special receiver in time, but it will be a while until he can be what Brown was for the Titans and is for the Eagles. Brown is paired with a bigger-armed QB and playing off another young star.
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Hurts is getting MVP attention, but his campaign vs. Patrick Mahomes and others wouldn’t be possible without Brown. He’s the final piece in Hurts’ evolution. It doesn’t matter whether Brown is single-covered, double-covered or facing busted coverage; he is often un-coverable. When a defense puts a full effort into trying to take him out of the game, the Eagles can burn it with Hurts to Smith, or they can just turn to their elite running game, where Brown is a key blocker.
What Brown has done for the Eagles is immeasurable. It was the ultimate power move by Philly general manager Howie Roseman to get his team back into Super Bowl contention.