The New England Patriots hope AJ Brown can be the modern-day Randy Moss for Drake Maye and the offense. Tom Brady knows better than anyone what kind of impact that sort of addition can make.
Brady and Moss immediately became one of the NFL’s best duos of all time when they teamed up in 2007, and there’s a natural comparison after New England recently acquired Brown.
Speaking to Heavy.com ahead of the launch of his new coconut water Good Nut, Brady made a good point about how talents like Moss (or Brown) can feed off a receiver room.
How AJ Brown Could Change Dynamic of Patriots WR Room
“I loved playing with Randy. Some of the best years of my career were with him, and at the same time, we brought Wes Welker over as well. At the same time, we brought Donte Stallworth over, and I loved playing with that entire receiver room,” Brady told Heavy.com. “Randy could do things that nobody else in the league could ever do. And he had a complement in Wes Welker that was doing a lot of things that, you know, protected Randy and Randy protected Wes.”
It’s unwise, perhaps even insane, to compare the 2026 Patriots to the 2007 Patriots. Brady and Moss might literally be the best of all time at their respective positions. And as Brady noted, Welker and Stallworth were both borderline elite talents.
But the obvious hope is that there are similarities. On paper, New England does have some impressive balance. Brown will man that No. 1 spot, of course, but the addition of Romeo Doubs, as a possession receiver, looks even better once Brown takes up more attention of opposing defenses. Mack Hollins and DeMario Douglas both get more dangerous as the rest of the field opens up, and if New England can somehow find a way to keep Kayshon Boutte in the mix, it’s easy to see why ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky believes they could be the best receiver room in the NFL. And that’s not even including Efton Chism, who turned heads at OTAs.
Tom Brady on How Drake Maye, Patriots Can Manage Crowded WR Room
That glut of talent, however, comes with a unique set of challenges. Maye and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels will have their hands full trying to make sure the wideouts don’t go empty-handed.
“The receiver position is so funny … it’s hard because they may only touch the ball five times a game and it’s hard for those guys to keep their emotions in check because they want to play a big role,” Brady explained.
“And at the same time, I just know playing quarterback. There was one ball that I had, you know, I had and sometimes half the game we ran the ball and other times, you know, I had to throw tight ends and backs and sometimes protection broke down.”
He added: “It’s a team sport and the better group of receivers you have, the better you are as a team. And I think the more that unit focuses on doing their job, open up space for other people, the more I would say the unit performs better.”
Tom Brady spoke with Heavy while promoting the launch of Good Nut, a new organic coconut water, part of his partnership with Gopuff. ” I just wanted to have a great opportunity to create something special that tastes great, that was super simple, great ingredients, super clean.”
Tom Brady Explains How AJ Brown Can Impact Patriots Receiver Room