New England Patriots wide receiver A. J. Brown made the NFL top 100 list on Monday morning. He placed 80th on the list, as noted by various media outlets on Monday morning.
Brown is the Patriots’ prized offseason acquisition. The organization did so, trading with the Philadelphia Eagles in June in exchange for a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick. Now, the organization has a top weapon for quarterback Drake Maye. The latter looks to follow up an impressive Super Bowl run that saw the Patriots go from cellar dwellers to one of the top teams in the AFC.
In the meantime, Brown placed 80th on the list, as noted by NFL Network earlier in the day.
Patriots WR Has History On The List
This is drastically lower in comparison to what he was last year. He was 29th on the list last year, after recording 67 catches for 1,079 yards and seven touchdowns in 2024. Last season, he struggled a little bit. He tallied 78 catches for 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns. Even still, he was able to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark in a down season.
Historically, he has been fairly high on the list over the past couple seasons. He placed 21st on the list in 2024, his highest spot ever. He was also 22nd on the list in 2023 and 62nd on the list in 2021.
The only times that he has not appeared on this list is 2020 and 2022. That came after his rookie season. The playmaker also battled injury in 2021, and that saw him only record 869 yards. He did not make the list as a result of this.
Patriots Have Found History On List
The Patriots organization has historically found itself on the Top-100 list. Tom Brady had 13 top-100 selections with New England. The quarterback never fell lower than 14th overall. In the meantime, tight end Rob Gronkowski had nine selections, with his peak coming in 2016 when he placed fourth overall.
Julian Edelman found his way onto the list five times as well, and he was able to get as high as 43rd on the 2016 list. The ever-dependable safety Devin McCourty saw his name appear there five times and went as high as 49th in 2017.
Strong secondary play was a theme for the organization, as Stephon Gilmore also had four selections. The playmaker went as high as ninth overall in 2020 after he won the AP Defensive Player of the Year award in 2019.
Seeing a Patriot on this list is nothing new. With that being said, this just adds to the excitement and intrigue surrounding the beginning of Brown’s tenure in New England.
It will be interesting to see what happens this season, as he will get a fresh start on his career with a Patriots team looking to prove that they still belong at the top of the AFC. However the season plays out, Brown is undoubtedly going to be a factor. The Patriots have struggled to consistently find the top receiver, and now Brown’s arrival could change that.
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