NFL Mock Trade: Philadelphia Eagles Deal A.J. Brown To New England Patriots

With the 2025 NFL Trade Deadline set for November 4 at 4:00 PM EST, there are teams across the league having very real discussions about whether they will be buyers or sellers. While buyers are typically teams with winning records and sellers are almost always teams looking to rebuild, we’re going to take a look at a mock trade with a bit of a different twist. The New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles are both in the playoff hunt at 4-2, but the defending champs are in a strange place right now. With their offense struggling after back-to-back losses, the Eagles could find themselves selling in order to improve their chances at a repeat. Does trading A.J. Brown to the Patriots count as addition by subtraction?

Mock Trade Details & Fantasy Football Impact

Patriots Receive

WR A.J. Brown

Eagles Receive

2026 Second-Round Pick

WR DeMario Douglas

The Eagles were one of the last undefeated teams in the league at 4-0, but their offense had been struggling long before their current two-game losing streak. The Eagles are currently the third-worst offense in the league in terms of total team yards per game, and are fourth-worst in the league with just 179.2 yards of passing offense per game.

While WR A.J. Brown has consistently seen 8-10 targets per game over the last five weeks, four of his six games this season have led to sub-50 yard receiving performances, and he has just one touchdown on the year. The mercurial receiver’s cryptic comments have led to speculation that he wants out of Philadelphia, and a reunion with his former head coach Mike Vrabel makes perfect sense.

A.J. Brown would immediately be the WR1 in New England and would see a boost in his fantasy football value as he'd (theoretically) become a much more consistent weekly producer. His presence would decrease the fantasy value of Diggs and Boutte a bit, but he wouldn't put a massive dent in their fantasy value.

DeMario Douglas wouldn't see much change in his fantasy value if this trade comes to pass, but both Dallas Goeddert and DeVonta Smith would see a bump in their value.

Why The Trade Makes Sense For The Patriots

The Patriots have won three-straight games, and second-year QB Drake Maye is playing like an MVP candidate, so why would they look to rock the boat? It’s a valid question as New England is sixth in the league in passing yards per game, but they’re also lacking an alpha receiver right now.

Stefon Diggs is the closest they have to a WR1, but he’s been moved to more of a slot role with the Patriots so having Brown lineup on the outside (along with Kayshon Boutte) would give opposing defenses quite a few migraines as they tried to gameplan for the Patriots each week.

While a 2026 second-rounder is a tough pill to swallow for a team that values its draft picks, the Patriots have enough cap space to absorb Brown’s contract and have a surprisingly clear path to a playoff spot right now.

Why The Trade Makes Sense For The Eagles

There’s a very real argument that it would be insane for a struggling Eagles offense to trade their best receiver. But this is one of those rare instances where addition by subtraction might make a lot of sense. While it’s impossible to know what’s going on behind-the-scenes in the Eagles’ locker room, Brown’s presence doesn’t seem to be doing a lot of good. He’s seemingly slipped behind Dallas Goeddert and DeVonta Smith as Jalen Hurts’ preferred target, and a change of scenery might serve both sides well.

The Eagles still lead the NFC East at 4-2, so they would have a little breathing room to re-work their offense on the fly and incorporate DeMario Douglas (who is coming off a big Week 6) into their offense, in this scenario. General Manager Howie Roseman would also get a valuable asset for the 2026 draft if they make this deal, and they’d open up quite a bit of cap space entering an offseason where they have a few free agents to take care of. This trade would be a huge risk for the Eagles, but it might be a risk they feel like they have to take if they think Brown is a net-negative for the team.