The inevitability of the Philadelphia Eagles' A.J. Brown trade clouded some of what was actually going on with the player. With the price set at a first-round pick for months, questions about how good the star receiver actually was in 2025 seemed to fade into the background.
Pete Prisco's top-100 NFL player rankings may clear some of those questions up. Brown ranked 64th on the CBS Sports analyst's list, a 33-slot fall from his No. 31 ranking in 2025. He's now Prisco's seventh-ranked wide receiver.
While Brown is clearly still a talented wideout capable of holding down the No. 1 role in a strong offense, his slip down the rankings justifies the Eagles' somewhat forced decision to let him go.
Eagles' A.J. Brown trade looks even better after WR's fall in NFL player rankings
Philly received a haul of a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick from the New England Patriots in exchange for Brown. The drawn-out nature of the trade could have ended in a much worse return for the Eagles, but Howie Roseman managed to get solid value back for his receiver.
There's no doubt that Brown is still a dominant player at his best, but his production in 2025 makes the move much easier to stomach.
Brown barely eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards last season, and his yards per route run dropped significantly from his 2024 mark of 2.61 to just 1.96. Obviously, his connection with Jalen Hurts wasn't the same as it had previously been, and his off-field frustrations seemed to bleed into his on-field performance.
That dropoff in production led Prisco to let Brown fall in his rankings. Prisco justified his decision, saying, "He was traded from the Eagles to the Patriots last month, giving him a chance to play in a more pass-friendly offense. He had 78 catches with seven touchdowns last season. But his yards-per-catch average dropped from 16.1 to 12.9."
Already on the verge of turning 29 years old, the superstar wide receiver could see his production continue to decline in the coming years. Meanwhile, the Eagles have quickly rebuilt their pass-catcher room and have a future first-round pick to work with after the deal.
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Losing Brown will still hurt. He was dominant for the Eagles at times and played a major role in the team's success in recent years. But Philly was right to trade him, and the haul they got in return should leave them with no regrets.
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