New England Patriots wide receiver A.J. Brown return from injured reserve last Sunday against the New York Jets. While the Patriots walked out with a victory, Brown did not look like his usual self.
The star wide receiver was targeted a game-high 10 times but ended with just three receptions for 27 yards. Among the seven incompletions his direction featured a handful of drops, including on a third-down slant and deep go-ball down the right sideline.
While Brown owned the performance post-game, it was not the showing the Patriots expected when they traded a 2028 first-round pick for the receiver back in June.
It was more encouraging, however, that Brown looked explosive and was getting open throughout the day in his return from an ankle injury.
“I like the separation, unfortunately we just have to finish,” head coach Mike Vrabel said Monday morning.
That is part of the reason why Patriots fans are still confident in Brown moving forward. In the latest SB Nation Reacts survey, 75% of participants said they would not be concerned with the wide receiver.
Much of the comment section agrees:
For Pats Sake
Nope.
He missed 4 Weeks on IR and he hasn’t had time to form a connection with Drake Maye yet. He looked fast and he ran the right routes. He has a history of catching everything and you don’t just forget how to do that.
Leoa888
It was week 1.5 for him. He’ll be alright.
KissBillsRings
Nope…. It was an aberration
Nuff said
VaEagle85
Not concerned … but also not seeing the upgrade yet over what the team had with Diggs.
Its an apples and oranges response I suppose. AJ Brown is much more physical than Diggs, but we haven’t seen much of it yet. And Diggs is putting up decent numbers again this year, even on an inconsistent Commanders team. And just like he did with Maye, Diggs is becoming a reliable target for JD Daniels in clutch moments.
PatsHowYouDoIt
No. He’s a professional stud. He hasn’t forgotten how to catch. He didn’t forget how to get open. I’m sure he was pretty amped up for his first home game with his new boyhood idolized team. That first drop probably got in his head a bit. It snowballs from there. He just needs to calm down. Get comfortable. He’ll be fine. He’ll excel.
All in all, this week’s survey results look as follows:
Brown will look to bounce back Thursday night against a Bears secondary that has struggled this season. The Patriots will need such a performance after placing Romeo Doubs on injured reserve this week, leaving them with just Brown, Kyle Williams, Efton Chism III, and DeMario Douglas on the active roster.
While 25% of voters are then concerned with Brown, Douglas is among his teammates that are expecting a big performance.
“I can’t wait. I know it’s due,” Douglas said.
Despite Brown’s case of the drops, a third straight win also has Patriots fans remaining confident in the team’s direction. After fan confidence reached a season-low of just 9% following the Jaguars loss, 91% of fans now believe the team is headed in the right direction.
The Patriots will need better from Brown to keep stacking wins and achieve their ultimate goals of winning the Super Bowl this season. They currently have the 11th best odds to hoist the Lombardi trophy on FanDuel Sportsbook, sixth best in the AFC.