Eagles Trade AJ Brown To Patriots, Unleashing DeVonta Smith As A Fantasy Superstar

The New England Patriots have acquired wide receiver AJ Brown from the Philadelphia Eagles for a first-round pick and more.

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown (11) looks on prior to an NFC Wild Card Round game against the San Francisco 49ers at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The trade that the fantasy football community has been waiting for all offseason finally went through today. Star wide receiver AJ Brown has been traded from the Philadelphia Eagles to the New England Patriots. Philadelphia will receive a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick for their WR1, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. This is the second huge trade we saw on June 1.

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ESPN sources: The Eagles are trading Pro-Bowl WR A.J. Brown to the Patriots for a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick that is the better of New England’s two fifths. The deal that has been speculated on for weeks now finally is happening. Brown and Patriots… pic.twitter.com/9Z8ocpyeJf

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 1, 2026

This is a move that will change the entire landscape of fantasy football. Prepare for rankings and ADP to change drastically in the coming days for a number of players on both the Patriots and Eagles.

Fantasy Impact

WR AJ Brown, New England Patriots

This gives Brown a huge boost in fantasy value. He goes from the run-heavy Eagles offense, with a quarterback whose greatest strength is his legs rather than his arm, to the Patriots, who feature a young, big-armed quarterback coming off an MVP-caliber season. We expect Brown's volume and big-play upside to see a significant boost in New England. He now has WR1 overall upside.

WR DeVonta Smith, Philadelphia Eagles

Smith could be just as big a winner as Brown. He immediately becomes the WR1 in Philadelphia and should see a major spike in volume with Brown leaving for the Patriots.

We could see Smith's value spike as high as a fringe fantasy WR1 in the coming days before his ADP ultimately settles somewhere in the mid-teens. The only concern is that he is still expected to be stuck in a low-volume passing attack, but Brown's absence should ease those worries.

QB Drake Maye, New England Patriots

Coming off a season in which he finished just one vote shy of being named the NFL MVP despite having one of the weakest WR corps in the league, Maye now gets an elite WR1 to throw the ball to. These two are a perfect fit for each other's skill sets as well. We are going to see a ton of big plays from Maye to Brown this season, and owners of both these players should be thrilled. Maye has officially entered the QB1 overall conversation.

WR Makai Lemon, Philadelphia Eagles

Most fantasy owners probably always expected Brown to be traded at some point after they drafted Makai Lemon in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft; however, with Brown gone, Lemon is now expected to step into the WR2 role in Philly.

While there is some competition for the job with Hollywood Brown joining the Eagles in free agency, it's unlikely he is able to win the job and hold off the rookie this season. This is great news for the future star, even if it was expected news.

WR Romeo Doubs, New England Patriots

Doubs, along with the rest of the Patriots' wide receivers like Kayshon Boutte and DeMario Douglas, will now be cast into obscurity. None of them should be viewed as anything more than a late-round flier in fantasy drafts this season. Had Brown not landed in New England, Doubs would have been a popular mid-round sleeper, but this trade strips away his relevancy.

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