The New England Patriots need a true No. 1 wide receiver, and with free agency mostly over, the best place to find that impact player is via trade.
Sure, a top-tier wide receiver could be found in the 2026 NFL Draft, but the Patriots have a lot of other roster weaknesses to address with their 11 picks.
The most obvious trade target is A.J. Brown. The Philadelphia Eagles star wide receiver has been the subject of trade rumors for a while, but he hasn’t been dealt yet.
Giving up a first-round pick in a potential Brown trade would be a high price for any team, including the Patriots. Brown is a very good wideout and would give Patriots quarterback Drake Maye a reliable target all over the field. That said, Brown will be 29 years old in June and is coming off a slightly underwhelming season (by his standards) with the Eagles.
How should the Patriots value Brown? What should they be willing to give up for him? Boston Sports Journal‘s Greg Bedard provided an update on NBC Sports Boston’s Boston Sports Tonight earlier this week.
“The Patriots, my understanding is, are around a second-round draft pick compensation,” Bedard said.
Our Patriots insider Phil Perry thinks a second-round pick would be a much better price for the Patriots in a potential Brown deal than giving up a 2027 first-rounder.
“A second-round pick makes much more sense because there is no shot that the Patriots should be willing to give up their first-rounder next year because you have no idea where that thing’s going to be,” Perry explained. “It’s way too risky to give up that pick if this trade has to happen in June.”
The Patriots should be a good team next season, but their 2026 schedule will be much, much tougher after they finished first in the AFC East this past season. What if the Patriots take a step back and their 2027 first-round pick ends up being in the 15-20 range? Trading away a pick of that value for an aging — but still very good — wideout in Brown would be a risk.
A second-rounder would make a lot more sense for the Patriots. But would the Eagles find that compensation to their liking?
If the Patriots can’t work out a trade for Brown, there are plenty of exciting wide receiver prospects in the 2026 draft class. Spending a Day 1 or Day 2 draft pick on one of those players would be worth the gamble.
