AJ Brown's Week 6 return did not go as planned. The star wide receiver returned to the Patriots after four games sidelined due to a high-ankle sprain. In that game, Brown dropped three balls, setting a career high. It obviously concerns fantasy managers to see such bad football from such a hyped player. Is Brown worth trading in fantasy football? Let's dissect.
AJ Brown's Statistics to Date
AJ Brown with his third drop of the day pic.twitter.com/z2EMaalsBN
- Arye Pulli (@AryePulliNFL) October 18, 2026
In a 26-19 defeat of the New York Jets, Brown filled his role as expected. At least in terms of usage, that was expected. Brown had 10 targets, the most on the team, but he managed only 3 receptions. It was a day of three drops and, overall, bad football for the Pro-Bowler.
Brown is clearly the Patriots' No. 1 pass-catcher, and despite a bad outing, he will remain so. Especially now that Romeo Doubs could miss time with a suspected AC joint sprain.
Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel commented on Brown's troublesome outing, stating, "Concern? No, I don't think so." Vrabel went on to hold Brown accountable, explaining that he must make the plays he is asked to.
Nonetheless, there is no concern, and Brown's projected target share will take no hit in his fantasy football projection.
Going forward, the Patriots depth chart will be as following, assuming Doubs is out:
- WR1: AJ Brown
- WR2: Demario Douglas
- WR3: Kyle Williams
- WR4: Efton Chism
Brown's Week 6 projection had him expected for about 27% of the Patriots' passing offense and about a 24% target share. That number may shift slightly going into Week 7, but for the most part, Brown will project as a WR2 in fantasy football.
New England's next football game is on Thursday Night Football this week, against the Chicago Bears. A short week is not ideal for Brown or the Patriots' offense as a whole. But again, the projection won't change. Simply put, Brown's catch rate will be lower after a bad game, but he is still a must-start in fantasy football.
The Bears rank only 22nd-best in Fantasy Points Allowed to Wide Receivers. The singular concern is only the Patriots' pass block, which is quite injured. The team may be missing multiple starting offensive linemen, and the Bears rank 8th-best in Pass-Rush Win Rate.
Our Fantasy Football Week 7 Projections Go Live on Wednesday Afternoon
Buy, Sell, or Hold: AJ Brown?
In Week 6, Brown was projected as a low-end WR2 in fantasy football. However, that was due to a tough matchup. The Jets rank 7th in Fantasy Points Allowed to Wide Receivers.
Given a tough Week 7 matchup, Brown will likely be in the same general range. I don't offer a precise rest-of-season ranking at the moment, but I expect Brown to be in a broad WR17-WR25 range at his position.
FantasyPros offers its own rest-of-season rankings. In those, Brown is ranked WR22 in fantasy football, right around Matthew Golden, DeVonta Smith, Jameson Williams, and Michael Wilson.
The way I see it, fantasy managers shouldn't trade off Brown after one bad game. After all, he earns over $30 million annually, and in 2025, Brown ranked 11th out of 81 wide receivers in PFF Receiving Grade. He is not washed; rather, players have bad games from time to time. Especially following a month-long absence.
Hold AJ Brown in Fantasy Football.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/onsi/fantasy as Fantasy Football Buy, Sell, or Hold: What to Do With A.J. Brown After a Brutal Return.