How good was A.J. Brown? A look back at his Eagles career

A look at what A.J. Brown was able to do in an incredible four-year stretch with the Eagles.

By Reuben Frank • Published June 1, 2026

What’s remarkable isn’t that A.J. Brown ranks seventh in Eagles history among wide receivers in catches or that he ranks sixth in yards or that he’s ninth in touchdown catches or that he has more 1,000-yard seasons than anybody else in Eagles history or that he has the 2^nd-most 100-yard games in franchise history.

What’s truly remarkable is that he did all that in just four seasons.

Brown may not be the greatest wide receiver in Eagles history. That honor is still reserved for Mike Quick. But it’s safe to say very few players at any position accomplished as much in such a short time here as Brown.

In 61 games from 2022, when the Eagles acquired him from the Titans, through 2025, his last season as an Eagle, Brown caught 339 passes for 5,034 yards and 34 touchdowns in 62 regular-season games.

Some 23 wide receivers have played more games for the Eagles, including Reggie Brown, Todd Pinkston and Freddie Mitchell. Only five of them had more yards.

Brown’s average season in an Eagles uniform: 85 catches, 1,258 yards, 8 touchdowns. The only other Eagle to have just one season matching Brown’s average season is Jeremy Maclin, who caught 85 passes for 1,318 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2014.

Brown had 300 more yards in his 62 games as an Eagle than any other Eagle ever had in any 62-game span.

His 81.2 yards per game are far beyond any other Eagles wide receiver who played in at least 50 games. T.O. averaged 93.5 but in just 21 games. DeSean Jackson is second at 68.5.

Brown has the two-best receiving seasons in Eagles history – 1,496 yards in 2022 and 1,456 yards in 2023. He’s the only WR in franchise history with 100 catches in a season. Over the last four years, his 5,034 yards trails only Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase, CeeDee Lamb and Amon-Ra St. Brown.

Brown and Jackson are the only Eagles WRs selected to multiple Pro Bowls in the last 35 years.

What’s easy to forget is that even without world-class speed, during his four years here Brown was one of the NFL’s leaders in yards per catch as well as one of the tops in Eagles history.

Brown averaged 14.8 yards per reception since 2022, 5^th-highest among 49 WRs with at least 400 targets over the last four years, behind George Pickens (16.0), Brandon Aiyuk (15.2), Nico Collins (15.0) and Darius Slayton (14.9). That’s also 5^th-highest in Eagles history, behind Quick (17.8), Jackson (17.2), Harold Carmichael (15.3) and Fred Barnett (15.1).

In his career, including his three years with the Titans, Brown has averaged 76.5 yards per game and 15.2 yards per catch. Only four other players in NFL history have those averages – Art Powell, a 1959 Eagles draft pick who never played for the Eagles (16.8, 76.6), Hall of Famer Lance Alworth (18.9, 75.5), Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson (15.9, 86.1) and former Eagle Julio Jones (15.0, 82.5).

Brown’s 76.5 yards per game ranks 11^th in NFL history, higher than 36 of 38 modern-era WRs in the Hall of Fame.

In his first two seasons with the Eagles, Brown had the 3rd-most receiving yards in the NFL behind Tyreek Hill and CeeDee Lamb and made the Pro Bowl both seasons. The last two years he ranked 14th and didn’t make a Pro Bowl.

Brown’s career in Philly ended with his worst game as an Eagle, with three terrible drops and just three catches for 25 yards in that brutal wild-card loss to the 49ers this past January. He became the first NFL receiver since 2020 with three drops in a playoff game and the first Eagle with three drops in any game since J.J. Arcega-Whiteside in 2022.

But his first game as an Eagle was unforgettable. He had 155 yards in a 38-35 win at Detroit on opening day 2022. That’s the most yards ever by a player in his first game as an Eagle.

That was the first of his four 150-yard games as an Eagle. Only Jackson, McDonald and Maclin had more and they each played here a lot longer.

But Brown is now a Patriot and the first Pro Bowl Eagles WR to get traded since Harold Jackson and backup fullback Tony Baker were shipped to the Rams on June 8, 1973 for quarterback Roman Gabriel, who went 12-25 in 37 starts for the Eagles.

https://www.nbcsportsphiladelphia.com/nfl/philadelphia-eagles/how-good-was-aj-brown-a-look-back-at-his-eagles-career/735354/

A day dedicated to AJ Brown in 411. Regardless of what you think of him or how his career ended here, he was a major contributor to going to 2 Super Bowls ... without him we likely do not have that 2nd Lombardi in the trophy case.

This is a good way to look at it as a whole.

12 minutes ago, EaglesAddict said:

This is a good way to look at it as a whole.

Indeed it is. One could argue he became a much more dominant player during his 4 years here so theoretically he should be worth more than what we gave up for him. But we also had him during his prime years ... at 29 he isn't likely to generate the same stat line over his next 4 years as he did the past 4 here (that would hold true even if he remained here).

3 minutes ago, time2rock said:

Indeed it is. One could argue he became a much more dominant player during his 4 years here so theoretically he should be worth more than what we gave up for him. But we also had him during his prime years ... at 29 he isn't likely to generate the same stat line over his next 4 years as he did the past 4 here (that would hold true even if he remained here).

Very true. And we gave up our 2nd first round pick in 2022 when many people thought we probably would have taken Treylon Burks with that pick...who the Titans drafted with the pick for Brown. So in essence, we really only gave up a 3rd rounder for him

28 minutes ago, EaglesAddict said:

Very true. And we gave up our 2nd first round pick in 2022 when many people thought we probably would have taken Treylon Burks with that pick...who the Titans drafted with the pick for Brown. So in essence, we really only gave up a 3rd rounder for him

Going to be interesting obviously to not only watch him play and see what he does up there (glad he isn't with the Rams or any other team in the NFC!) but also how well the Pats are in 2027. Hopefully they fall off a bit and that pick is top 15 in 2028.

14 minutes ago, time2rock said:

Going to be interesting obviously to not only watch him play and see what he does up there (glad he isn't with the Rams or any other team in the NFC!) but also how well the Pats are in 2027. Hopefully they fall off a bit and that pick is top 15 in 2028.

Pats will prob have a down year this upcoming season and then rebound in 2027

But that 5th rounder in next year's draft might be high!

All kidding aside, when the 2027 season rolls around it'll be fun to have another "draft pick watch" and to root for the Pats to go 0-17, lol

21 minutes ago, EaglesAddict said:

Pats will prob have a down year this upcoming season and then rebound in 2027

But that 5th rounder in next year's draft might be high!

All kidding aside, when the 2027 season rolls around it'll be fun to have another "draft pick watch" and to root for the Pats to go 0-17, lol

That's one of the reasons why I was really hoping for a 2027 1st (other than it being a really good draft class) ... with a more difficult schedule due to winning their division this past season they are bound to take a step back next year. If they do then they likely have an easier schedule in 2027 and may have a better overall record as a result.