When news broke that AJ Brown had officially been traded from the Philadelphia Eagles to the New England Patriots after months and months of anticipation, it presented a whole new set of questions about the Super Bowl runner-ups.

How would Brown's game translate into Josh McDaniels' offense? How many more elite years does No. 11 have left in the tank heading into his Year 29 season? And how will this impact Drake Maye, who came up just short of winning league MVP in only his second professional year?

Looking at things through a fantasy football perspective, ESPN's Field Yates revealed how Brown fits into the picture with New England and how prospective players should view No. 11 when picking their 2026 teams.

“I've had AJ Brown ranked wide receiver 11 in my rankings, now available on ESPN.com, and that was baking in the idea that AJ Brown would become a Patriot. Everybody knows that AJ Brown had a tough season last year in Philly. No surprise, the team moved on from him. We also all know AJ Brown is an absolute stud, one of the reasons why the Patriots are willing to give up a 2028 first-round pick. But this fit is particularly perfect for a few reasons. One of the most important ones is that AJ Brown is an elite deep ball threat. Over the past four seasons, all with the Eagles, AJ Brown had 18 receiving touchdowns on balls thrown 20-plus air yards down the field. No other player in the NFL had as many. This guy is absolutely dominant as a vertical threat,” Yates said.

Article Continues Below

“Drake Maye happens to be one of the best deep ball throwers in the NFL. He showed that last year. He led the league in air yards per attempt, led the league in yards per passing attempt, and had the third most completions of 20-plus air yards in all of the NFL. The Patriots this offseason did a wide receiver exchange. Basically, Stephon digs out, and they got Romeo Doubs in free agency. We'll see how much of a factor Romeo Doubs is for fantasy, but AJ Brown unquestionably would be a big factor for this Patriots offense. Yes, the schedule gets tougher for the team this year, but very bullish on both Drake Maye and AJ Brown. Wide receiver 11.”

While making Brown No. 11 is a cute bit of serendipity since that's the number he's worn for the first seven years of his career – even if he will reportedly be wearing No. 1 for the Pats this fall – it will be interesting to see if one of the best wide receiver in the NFL will take things up a notch when paired up with one of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL. If double-digit wide receivers have been taken and Brown is still on the board in a fantasy draft, he could be an absolute steal.