Had it not been for a fracture in the ankle of Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix, who knows where the New England Patriots season would have ended. They were blown out by the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl, but still ended their season as the AFC champions after barely squeaking past backup Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham in the conference title game. It was not a convincing win to seal the conference title, and a Super Bowl blowout did not help either.
The Patriots did some work earlier in the offseason to try to bring a better supporting cast to Drake Maye, but it clearly was not enough to earn the confidence of the front office and coaching staff. After a season in which he finished with almost the same receiving yardage total as Troy Franklin (who makes $1.3 million towards the cap next year), Romeo Doubs is set to make $17 million next year as now a seemingly number two wide receiver. For that money, he'd have to be the top receiver option, at least you'd think.
The Broncos added Jaylen Waddle to lead their receiver core, which also makes Courtland Sutton arguably the best WR2 in the game, while also dropping Franklin to an incredible third option. The Broncos are poised to be one of the top teams in the AFC again next year, and the Patriots clearly recognize that. A new report this morning clearly shows that the Patriots don't view themselves on the same level as the Broncos, and they are trying to play catch-up.
The Patriots are expected to trade for AJ Brown, showing how desperate they are to catch up with the Denver Broncos
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the New England Patriots are expected to be able to bring in Eagles wide receiver AJ Brown following June 1st, allowing the deal to be more financially doable for the Pats. As Schefter put it:
"The Eagles remain open to trading AJ Brown, the Patriots remain highly interested in acquiring the star receiver, and conversations are expected to resume shortly on or before June 1, likely culminating in a deal, per league sources.
As one source said about the Patriots' pursuit of Brown, they'll "definitely be engaging then."
A trade to New England is now considered likely."
Brown will fill the hole on their roster left by Stefon Diggs, who was their top receiver heading into the Super Bowl after another 1,000-yard season. After the Broncos returned the majority of their key pieces and brought in Waddle, it is clear the Patriots feel the need to catch up with Denver, especially at the wide receiver position. The Patriots are also likely to need to trade a first-round draft selection and more for Brown, putting all of their eggs in one basket.
The incredibly interesting angle to all of this will be how Brown carries himself in a New England locker room that doesn't seem to have a vocal leader. Brown was more than happy to voice his frustrations last year on a reigning championship Philadelphia Eagles team, and the team was never able to recover. Within a team, the Eagles went from reigning champions to discussions over whether or not the quarterback and head coach are on the hot seat. There is no doubt Brown has talent, but will his media storm follow him to New England?
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