The A.J. Brown drama will never seem to go away.

A season after winning Super Bowl 57, the Philadelphia Eagles are seemingly at an impasse, and Brown’s lack of involvement is starting to affect both him and the team.

Let’s get this out of the way though: Brown is being targeted. In fact, when you compare his first eight games in 2024 (he missed Weeks 2 through 4) to the first eight games of this season, he’s actually been targeted two more times this season -- 49 in 2024 to 51 in 2025.

It’s the production that’s been wavering.

Week 1 was a bad look for the passing game, despite walking out with a win. Brown was targeted just once, and it was toward the end of the game.

The next six weeks though, quarterback Jalen Hurts has looked Brown’s way 8, 10, 9, 8, 9 and 6 times respectively.

The difference is, up until Week 7, Brown only hauled in one touchdown, and then he managed to find the endzone two times in the recent 28-22 win against Minnesota.

In a recent interview with The Athletic, Brown vented to writer Brooks Kubena about the internal struggle he has been dealing with.

Brown touched on a number of personal instances that has made him deal with trust issues and it leaves you feeling empathetic for him off the field, but for the sake of this article, we're going to focus on what's going on the field.

“I know everybody’s counting on me — that’s my thrill,” he says. “Everybody knows the ball’s coming to me. I love that feeling. Like, it’s a rush. I don’t do drugs, but that has to be what drugs feels like. And I’m getting that dopamine. And I’m coming through for my team again.”

There’s no denying that feeling. 

You can ask any athlete who’s played the game even at a junior high level, and they’ll tell you that there’s no better feeling than feeling like you’re the reason for your team’s success.

But what may throw you for a loop is what he said after that.

“And that’s where the excitement comes from. And that’s why it’s frustrating at times. And maybe people really misunderstand me as a player, but those feelings — that’s what I want. You may see a little frustration. It’s because I really want to contribute. I really want to help this team win. But if I’m not getting the ball, obviously, it’s not as fun.”

So let’s break this down a little bit, because sometimes quotes can be misconstrued.

“That’s why it’s frustrating at times. And maybe people really misunderstand me as a player, but those feelings – that’s what I want.”

These are incredibly valid feelings. A player’s team may be winning, but if he doesn’t feel like he’s actively involved in the gameplan, that can feel truly isolating.

Ever since he arrived in Philly, Brown posted two consecutive 1,400 receiving yard seasons, and then the following was a little over 1,000 due to missing time with an injury.

As of Week 9, Brown has only amassed 395 total receiving yards.

“You may see a little frustration. It’s because I really want to contribute. I really want to help this team win. But if I’m not getting the ball, obviously, it’s not as fun.”

Earlier in this piece, we covered how this season, Brown has been targeted 51 times, two more targets at this point in the season last year.

So, what exactly does Brown mean by “if I’m not getting the ball, obviously, it’s not as fun?” Because the ball is going his way.

Is it because he’s frustrated with Hurts? Is he frustrated that defenses are starting to figure him out? Is he frustrated with how coach Nick Sirianni is calling plays? Is it because he's not being targeted on go-routes?

What’s fascinating is that Hurts hasn’t been throwing poor balls. The Eagles as a whole are tied for third in least amount of poor balls thrown per Pro Football Reference.

The difference is, Philadelphia throws the ball at a bottom-10 rate, while it runs the ball at a top-10 rate.

Earlier on Instagram, Brown, as a true WR1 posted a cryptic, yet obvious post where he says “Using me, but not using me,” which should probably tell you all you need to know.

There have been reports on Brown and Hurts’ frayed relationship, and even his receiver partner DeVonta Smith has gone on record to say that offensively, things haven’t been working.

But to say that the ball isn’t going Brown’s way is a bit confusing.

As the kids say, “the math ain’t mathing,” because the targets are there, but the yards are not.