A.J. Brown trade partner power rankings

A.J. Brown might get traded this offseason. He might not. We'll see. But certainly, there isn't a team in the NFL that thinks he's an untouchable player, and the Philadelphia Eagles will get offers. There also happen to be no shortage of teams who make sense as a potential landing spot, particularly in the AFC. And so, let's rank Brown's most likely new teams, should the Birds trade him.

1) New England Patriots

The Patriots reportedly made an offer for Brown at the trade deadline last season, but there was no way the Eagles were going to deal him at that time, as it didn't make sense from a financial or football standpoint. So, you know, we already know there's interest there.

And the Pats certainly could have used Brown, as their offense sputtered throughout the playoffs. Their leading postseason receivers were… (checks notes)… Kayshon Boutte and Mack Hollins. 😬

A player like Brown – plus other additions to the offensive line – could help maximize the Pats' chances of getting back to the Super Bowl again in 2026, which is the last season that Drake Maye is guaranteed to still be on his rookie contract.

Also, there's the obvious connection between Brown and Pats head coach Mike Vrabel, who was unhappy when the Tennessee Titans – who Vrabel coached at the time – traded Brown to the Eagles in 2022. There should also be some level of fear that two of their AFC East rivals below could trade for Brown if the Pats make weak offers.

2) Buffalo Bills

Khalil Shakir led the Bills with a meager 719 receiving yards, 541 (75 percent!) of which came after the catch. He was really just an extension of the Bills' run game, as the vast majority of his catches were near the line of scrimmage. The next-closest wide receiver was Keon Coleman (404 receiving yards), who the Bills selected 33rd overall in 2024. In case you missed it, Coleman has been so bad that Bills owner Terry Pegula felt the need to blame the selection of Coleman on the recently ousted coaching staff in an attempt to shield GM Brandon Beane from criticism for making that pick, lol.

The Bills had an elite rushing attack in 2025, but their passing offense glaringly lacked receivers who could make plays down the field. Brown would help change that, as he could be the type of go-to receiver that Josh Allen desperately needs if Buffalo is going to finally get over the hump.

3) Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens have an electric playmaker in Zay Flowers, but he's a smaller, shifty type who is just 5'9 and around 180 pounds. Flowers and the much bigger Brown would complement each other well, and give Lamar Jackson one of the best receiving duos in the NFL.

Flowers aside, the Ravens had very little at wide receiver in 2025, as DeAndre Hopkins was cooked, and Rashod Bateman had a disappointing season after showing some promise in 2024.

4) Los Angeles Chargers

Honestly, I'm just tired of watching people make excuses for Justin Herbert every year.

5) Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins are an interesting team to watch in the Brown sweepstakes. To begin, they made a fairly easy decision to release Tyreek Hill, but in doing so all they have left at receiver is Jaylen Waddle. (And they don't really have anything at tight end, either.)

One player who has been linked to the Dolphins is free agent QB Malik Willis, seeing as the Dolphins' new GM Jon-Eric Sullivan and new head coach Jeff Hafley are both coming to Miami from Green Bay. Willis and De'Von Achane would give the Dolphins a very good rushing attack out of the box, and a receiving duo of Brown and Waddle would certainly be formidable.

A team widely viewed as one of the worst in the league could talk itself into believing it can be a playoff contender with the acquisitions of Willis and Brown, even if delusional.

6) Pittsburgh Steelers

Last offseason the Steelers traded for DK Metcalf, and then traded away George Pickens. Both teams they traded with got the better end of those deals.

• Pickens had 93 catches for 1,423 yards and 9 TDs for the Cowboys.

• Seattle traded up from the 53rd overall pick acquired from the Steelers for Metcalf and selected Nick Emmanwori, who immediately became a key player in the Seahawks' championship defense.

So, they might be a little gun-shy about making any more receiver trades this offseason. Of course, if the Steelers do nothing at receiver this offseason, they'll have the erratic Metcalf and pretty much nothing else. So they might be forced to make another bold move in 2026.

7) Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders are far from Super Bowl contenders, unlike some of the teams above. They pretty comfortably had the worst offense in the NFL last season. But, there's hope on the horizon.

It's a foregone conclusion that the Raiders are going to select Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 draft. Brown could pair with TE Brock Bowers, and suddenly opposing defenses will have to respect the passing offense, which could help open things up a bit for 2025 No. 4 overall pick RB Ashton Jeanty.

Add in that LT Kolton Miller will be back from injury and that the Raiders have the second-most cap space in the NFL to address the rest of the offensive line, and you can kind of see how they could talk themselves into thinking that they can legitimately compete in 2026, whether that's reality or not.

8) Denver Broncos

The Broncos have a decent trio of receivers in Courtland Sutton, Troy Franklin, and Marvin Mims. Sutton (6'4, 216) and Franklin (6'3, 180) are also bigger receivers, so Brown doesn't quite fit in with that group like a glove. But… none of those receivers are anywhere near as talented as Brown.

The Broncos were the 1 seed in the AFC, and I imagine that they feel like they would have been playing in the Super Bowl if Bo Nix hadn't gotten hurt in the Divisional Round. In an upcoming season in which Patrick Mahomes is likely to miss some time as he recovers from a torn ACL, the Broncos could decide to strike while the iron is hot, and take a big swing on a true offensive playmaker.

9) Indianapolis Colts

Remember when the Colts looked like legitimate Super Bowl contenders, and they went all-in at the trade deadline, acquiring Sauce Gardner for a pair of first-round picks, only to watch as their quarterback got hurt and they had to pull a literal grandfather out of retirement? It was kind of a crazy season in Indy.

Anyway, why stop now? In his lone season with Shane Steichen calling plays, Brown caught 88 passes for 1,496 yards and 11 TDs. He would make sense for the Colts if they lose Alec Pierce in free agency.

10) Washington Commanders

Lol, hear me out on this one. 😂

To begin, Adam Peters LOVES trading draft picks for star players on the downside of their careers, as evidenced by his acquisitions of Marshon Lattimore, Laremy Tunsil, and Deebo Samuel.

But also, the Commanders have made two recent trades with the Eagles. They traded Jahan Dotson to Philly, and they made a draft-day trade that allowed the Eagles to select Cooper DeJean. Obviously, a trade of Brown to the Commanders would be on another level, but even then, these two franchises have a seismic trade in their history, when the Birds sent Donovan McNabb to D.C.

The Commanders hoped Deebo would be a yards-after-catch beast for them. He did lead the team in receiving, with 727 yards, but he'll likely be one-and-done in Washington, as he is a free agent. Even if Brown were to have another down season, he is a far better version of Deebo.

Of course, the only way the Eagles would ever trade a player like Brown to a divisional rival is if (a) they think he just isn't going to be very good for very long, or (b) the divisional rival was offering significantly more in a trade than anyone else. Maybe it would take both?

But you can squint and kinda see how an in-division trade with Washington could make sense for both teams. Or maybe I just wanted to make fun of the Commanders for their dumb Lattimore/Tunsil/Deebo trades again. 🤷‍♂️

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