A.J. Brown Isn’t Worried About His Slow Start to Training Camp. The Patriots Shouldn’t Be Either.

Through two practices and a walkthrough, the star wide receiver has caught just one pass from Drake Maye.

Brown has caught just one pass from Drake Maye to start training camp. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Mike Vrabel is already getting after A.J. Brown in the film room. 

On the first snap of 11-on-11 drills at the Patriots’ first training camp practice on Saturday, quarterback Drake Maye immediately looked in his new top target’s direction. Despite Brown being draped by star cornerback Christian Gonzalez in coverage, Maye threw it to him anyway. The wide receiver got a hand on the pass but couldn’t haul it in.

“First team meeting [Vrabel] ripped me for almost bringing in a catch; he expected me to make that play,” Brown said of his coach, whom he originally played under with the Titans from 2019 to ’21. The moment reminded him of their days together in Tennessee.

“Early on, as a rookie, I didn’t really like that too much. But now I know it comes from a great place and he expects me to make that play, and so do I.”

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New England paid a steep price for Brown this offseason, trading a 2028 first-round pick and a ’27 fifth-round pick to the Eagles in exchange for the 29-year-old. A three-time Pro Bowler, a Super Bowl LIX champion and a big-bodied pass catcher who’s tallied 1,000-plus yards six times in his career, Brown is expected to be Maye’s WR1 as the quarterback comes off a season in which he led the Patriots to the Super Bowl and was the MVP runner-up to only Matthew Stafford.

Through two training camp practices and a walkthrough session on Monday, however, Brown has logged just one reception during competitive drills.

A.J. Brown says he’s at about 90% learning the #Patriots offense, and that the key to getting on the same page with Drake Maye is “non-stop communication.” pic.twitter.com/d1F8GrmewN

— Mike Kadlick (@mikekadlick) July 27, 2026

“The offense is … I’m in a good spot,” Brown said Monday of his comfort level in coordinator Josh McDaniels’s offense, seemingly unbothered by his lack of production so far. “I wanna say I’m like 90%. It’s really just about going out there and executing and getting on the same page with Drake each and every day.” He was then asked what goes into building that on-field chemistry with a new quarterback.

“Nonstop communication. Hearing what he thinks, and him listening to me, and just trying to get on the same page,” Brown explained. “There may be an angle here, I may need to go higher, something small like that. The details are very small in this league and you need to execute them.”

Why Brown’s quiet start shouldn’t worry the Patriots 

Brown is the leader of a crowded Patriots wide receiver room. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Brown doesn’t sound too worried about his quiet start, and the Patriots shouldn’t be either. Training camp is about building a rapport—not racking up stats. And when you add in the fact that the club signed free agent Romeo Doubs this offseason to a roster already featuring veterans Mack Hollins, Kayshon Boutte and DeMario Douglas, New England has quite a crowded room with plenty of mouths to feed.

“Guys [are] working hard,” Brown said of his new teammates. “We may not have the biggest names, but guys are just full of grit and come to work each and every day. We all hold each other accountable, and it’s fun. It’s a great group.”

It’s also worth noting that McDaniels’s offense has historically been built around taking what the defense gives it. While elite wide receivers like Randy Moss, Brandon Marshall and Davante Adams have put together career-best seasons while playing in the system, the scheme is fundamentally built on exploiting matchups—and as Maye has often said, it’s his job to get the ball to whoever is open.

The Patriots will return to the practice field Tuesday for what will likely be a faster-paced session before an off day Wednesday. Competition will continue to ramp up later in the week, which is when the Maye-to-Brown connection will truly be put to the test.

For now? It’s too early to sound the alarms. A quiet start—in non-padded practices, mind you—is far from a reason for New England to panic.

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