He wanted out of the Philadelphia Eagles so he’d see more of the ball, but A.J. Brown is already being warned he’s in for disappointment after securing his long-awaited trade to the New England Patriots and reuniting with head coach Mike Vrabel.
The latter developed Brown into a Pro Bowler for the Tennessee Titans back in 2020, but Vrabel’s work with Stefon Diggs last season doesn’t bode well for Brown’s workload in New England.
That’s according to ESPN’s Bill Barnwell, who wonders “whether Brown’s reunion with Mike Vrabel might actually lead to a reduction in his snap share. Brown nominally steps into the lead wide receiver role that Stefon Diggs filled for the Patriots a year ago. Diggs was incredibly efficient, finishing second in the NFL in ESPN’s receiver score (behind Puka Nacua) and third in yards per route run (behind Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Nacua).”
On the surface, those numbers appear a positive indicator for Brown, but Barnwell followed up with two sets of stats Brown won’t like. Nor should the Patriots, after they dealt two draft picks, including a first-rounder, to the Eagles to secure Brown’s services on Monday, June 1.
Mike Vrabel History Worrying for A.J. Brown
Barnwell pointed out that while Diggs topped 1,000 yards for the seventh time in his prolific career, the 32-year-old “didn’t even earn a Pro Bowl berth, though, because he wasn’t playing very often. The Pats used Diggs on only 55% of their offensive snaps in 2025, and he ran a pass route on just 60% of dropbacks.”
When trying to make sense of this curious usage plan for a true No. 1 receiver, Barnwell acknowledged, “Early in the season, I chalked that up to the Patriots keeping Diggs fresh as he returned from a torn ACL, but that usage pattern didn’t change as the season went along. He played more than 65% of the snaps in a game one time, and that was against the Jets in Week 11, so it wasn’t exactly driven by competitive factors. Diggs ran a route on 70% of Maye dropbacks during the postseason, but he was on the field for only 57% of New England’s offensive snaps, narrowly up from his regular-season participation rate.”
None of those are numbers Brown wants to see. Not when he essentially demanded his way out of Philly because he didn’t like how the Eagles used him.
Brown had legitimate reasons to gripe about his role last season, reasons spelled out by Doug Farrar of Athlon Sports, He felt “One of the weirdest things about that passing game is how often Brown was used as a decoy for other receivers to get open — a schematic decision that took Philly’s best receiver off the table when he was still more than able and willing to help.”
The Patriots aren’t likely to use Brown as mere window dressing to occupy distracted defensive backs. Not with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels designing concepts to move the burly wideout around.
As Taylor Kyles of Patriots on CLNS detailed, “New #Patriots WR A.J. Brown lined up wide on 88% of snaps with the Eagles last season Expect that to drop with Josh McDaniels calling plays.”
Expect that to drop with Josh McDaniels calling plays
McDaniels will be good for Brown, but Vrabel’s history suggests the second-round pick in the 2019 NFL draft shouldn’t assume he’s going from target-lite to volume receiver.
Not when Barnwell noted Vrabel’s Titans “simply didn’t use Brown as often as other teams used their top wideouts. Even removing the games where Brown was out injured, he played only about 73% of the offensive snaps in Tennessee and averaged just over 25 routes per game. Consider that 52 other wide receivers played in all three of those seasons and averaged more routes per contest than Brown.”
The player himself admitted he didn’t always warm to Vrabel’s coaching style. During an appearance on the DudesOnDudes podcast with Patriots legends Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman back in February, Brown recalled, “I really didn’t like Vrabes. I didn’t like him, and I admit that he knows that. So, I used to write, ‘I hate Vrabes, I hate Vrabes, I hate Vrabes.’ I was doing that to pretend like I was taking notes to look like I was engaged. But because he was so hard on me when I was a rookie and I really didn’t understand it. So, at the time I told Vrabes like, ‘Hey, like I’m humble already. You don’t got to humble me.’ But I really didn’t understand what he was trying to, you know, push me to be.”
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Brown eventually respected Vrabel’s approach, but he’s unlikely to appreciate a repeat of how the Patriots shared targets among their receivers last season.
Target Share Worked for Patriots Receivers
One reason Barnwell “wouldn’t be surprised if Vrabel rotates his wideouts a little more often than the Eagles did with their top two in Philadelphia,” is because rotation worked so well for the Patriots in 2025.
A committee approach helped second-year quarterback Drake Maye refine his game. The star signal-caller shared passes between Diggs, fellow wideouts Kayshon Boutte and Mack Hollins, tight ends Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper, and running back Rhamondre Stevenson.
Among Diggs’ supporting players, Stevens, Boutte and Hollins each “produced gaudy CROEs,” catch rates over expectation, according to Barnwell, citing Next Gen Stats.
Maye found success spreading the ball around, which is a hallmark of McDaniels’ system that’s likely to continue. Especially when the Patriots need to get two gifted big-play threats, second-year pros running back TreVeyon Henderson and receiver Kyle Williams, the ball more often.
McDaniels also can’t ignore high-priced free agent addition Romeo Doubs and slot specialist DeMario Douglas. Two pass-catchers ideally suited to his schemes.
Brown improves the talent level of the Patriots’ receiver corps, but there are enough compelling reasons to doubt he will dominate during his second stint with Vrabel.
A.J. Brown Given Mike Vrabel Warning After Patriots Trade