For most Philadelphia Eagles fans, June 1 was a day of relief that the A.J. Brown saga ended with him being traded to the New England Patriots, but for Jalen Hurts, it just added more pressure on him.
The Eagles moved on from Brown for two draft picks, raising more questions about the offense and putting pressure on Hurts to step up and play well without his favorite target. Sports Illustrated's Conor Orr named Hurts as one of the big losers from June 1 due to what is coming for him in 2026.
"A.J. Brown was an incredible security blanket for Hurts during their time together. On average, about 25% of Brown’s targets from Hurts over the past two years were considered 'tight-window' throws. In 2024, Brown had a plus-10.8% catch rate over expectation. Similarly, Brown’s strengths were downplayed by those looking at more boilerplate “advanced” statistics because a fair number of Brown’s targets turned out to be deep-ball throwaways that were simply assigned to Brown. When Brown was targeted, he still behaved mostly like a dominant, game-altering wide receiver who can command a serious advantage in man coverage. All that said, Hurts is now alone on his island in terms of blame. The offensive coordinator is gone. The receiver who helped build Hurts into this monolith is gone. What’s left is truly emblematic of how valuable Hurts can be to the Eagles moving forward."
Jalen Hurts is even more on the hot seat in 2026 after A.J. Brown trade
It's hard to argue against the fact that Hurts does not come out a winner of this trade. The main reason is that Brown is no longer there, which leaves a major hole in the passing game after the two-time Pro Bowl pass catcher eclipsed over 5,000 yards in four seasons with the Eagles.
Philly is still in a good position at wide receiver with DeVonta Smith looking ready to take on the WR1 role alone, but what about the other receivers? Hurts has to throw it to rookie Makai Lemon, Marquise "Hollywood" Brown, and Donatyvion Wicks, who all combined have zero receptions from Hurts as their quarterback, so that lack of chemistry has to get built quickly.
Another thing to keep in mind is that Hurts will have to do more on his own with this Eagles offense, which is built for him to use his arm and legs. Despite his decorated resume, praised by fans all offseason, there are doubters who don't believe in him as a passer.
Read more: 3 winners (and 2 losers) from Eagles' second week of OTAs
This is going to be the most challenging season of Hurts' career mentally, as he works towards not having A.J. Brown. If Hurts can prove that he can succeed without him, the Eagles are going to be on a whole new level that will make fans forget how much of a loss Brown was.
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