New England Patriots’ wide receiver A.J. Brown has been ranked as part of the NFL’s annual Top 100 list for the fifth time in his career.
Over the past two weeks, the NFL has been slowly releasing its annual “NFL’s Top 100” rankings — a list of the league’s best players as voted on by their peers. The countdown reached number 80 before the New England Patriots made an appearance, as 2026 offseason acquisition A.J. Brown cracked the list for the fifth time in his seven-year career.
New England traded a 2028 first-round pick and 2027 fifth-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles to bring Brown into the fold in Foxboro on June 1. Through the early offseason practice sessions, he has looked every bit the part of a top-100 player.
Brown is coming off a 2025 season that was considered a “down” year statistically, recording 78 receptions on 121 targets (64.9% reception rate), 1,003 receiving yards (12.9 yards per catch), and seven touchdowns.
Through seven NFL seasons, Brown has totaled 524 receptions on 816 targets with 8,029 receiving yards (15.3 yards per catch), 56 touchdowns, and 383 first downs. He was named Second-Team AP All-Pro three times (2022-24) and previously appeared on the NFL’s Top 100 four times: 2021 (#62), 2023 (#22), 2024 (#21), and 2025 (#29).
Brown recorded 1,000-plus receiving yards in six of his first seven seasons, including a current streak of four consecutive years heading into 2026. He remains just two years removed from career-high marks of 1,496 yards in 2022 and 1,456 yards in 2023.
In four seasons with Philadelphia (2022-2025), Brown recorded 339 receptions on 521 targets with 5,034 receiving yards (14.8 yards per catch), 32 touchdowns, and 240 first downs while aligning outside on 79.8% of his snaps. He tied a career-best mark with 11 touchdown receptions in 2022 and has since recorded seven touchdowns in each of the last three seasons.
A 6’1”, 226 lb. bulldozer, Brown has the entire route tree at his disposal. When he needs to play through contact at the catch point, he remains one of the NFL’s best with a wide catch radius, strong hands, and play strength to finish through opposing defensive backs.
The former Philadelphia and Tennessee Titans wide receiver has been an elite threat at the “X” position since entering the league in 2019, and now brings his talent and pedigree as a bona fide WR1 to Foxboro to pair with Drake Maye.
Brown’s range of success as an elite boundary threat perfectly aligns with the strengths and tendencies Maye displayed as one of the NFL’s most dangerous downfield passers in 2025. With complementary skill sets, the duo projects to connect on a high volume of targets in 2026.
How do you feel about Brown’s ranking in the NFL’s Top 100? Is he listed too high? Too low? Drop your thoughts in the comments below and join the conversation as a member on Patriots Roundtable.
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