What A.J. Brown trade means for Drake Maye's top wide receiver options on Patriots

At long last, New England Patriots fans can finally say A.J. Brown is on their team. The move had been heavily rumored, nearly guaranteed, for months now, and it has finally come to fruition.

Brown will be rejoining coach Mike Vrabel, who was his coach during their time with the Tennessee Titans. Their chemistry, paired with New England's dire need for a legitimate No. 1 wide receiver, makes this a perfect fit.

The top two spots of New England's depth chart will surely be Brown and Romeo Doubs. After Kayshon Boutte at the No. 3 spot, the pack begins to open up with options, both young and experienced.

Here's how New England's wide receiver room will look after the Brown trade.

MORE A.J. BROWN NEWS:

• Eagles WR depth chart projection without A.J. Brown
• Full timeline of trouble for A.J. Brown with the Eagles
• How A.J. Brown return compares

Patriots WR depth chart

With Stefon Diggs still standing as a free agent, the Patriots needed help in their receiving department. While Romeo Doubs was a nice offseason acquisition, the group still lacked a bona fide WR1 until Monday's trade for Brown.

Here is how the Patriots look at the WR position.

A.J. Brown

Emotions aside, Brown is easily a top-20 wide receiver when he is at his best. While many fans will remember his tenure with the Philadelphia Eagles best for reading a book and frequently deactivating his Twitter account, among other things, many glance past how good he is on the gridiron. In just 15 games last season, he was a 1,000-yard receiver and paired that with seven touchdowns. During his first season in the City of Brotherly Love, in 2022, the three-time Pro Bowler put up monster lines of 1,496 yards and 11 touchdowns. It's safe to expect great things from the surefire WR1 in Foxborough.

Romeo Doubs

After escaping the crowded Green Bay Packers' wide receiver room, Doubs should have a more defined role in New England. He was able to emerge as the top receiver last season with 724 receiving yards and in a three-way tie with six touchdowns. The new Eagle has had multiple concussions and an ankle injury, but he was the only Packer receiver to play 16 games last season. If Doubs is on the field, he is a great accomplice for the Maye-Brown reign in New England.

Kayshon Boutte

In only 14 games played last season, Boutte finished second on the Patriots with six receiving touchdowns. The only player to finish ahead of him in the category was tight end Hunter Henry. Even though Diggs played all 17 games last season, Boutte was able to establish himself as one of the franchise's main threats in the end zone. With all the attention from an opposing defense likely to land on Brown and Doubs, it's not out of the picture for Boutte to replicate this role in 2026.

Mack Hollins

Entering his age-33 season, Hollins had one of his best receiving seasons to date. His mark of 550 yards was the second-most he's had in his nine-season career thus far. The middle to bottom of New England's receiving corps is not too hard to navigate through, and Hollins has remained a viable option for Maye if his first go-to targets are covered.

DeMario Douglas

Besides Diggs and Kyle Williams, Douglas was one of the few receivers to suit up for all 17 games last season. He did receptions and targets halved in 2025 compared to the year prior, but that can be attributed to New England playing ahead in more games. One benchmark of Douglas' that went up was his yards per catch, at 14.4 YPC. He and Boutte led the team in the stat last season, so they could still remain relevant in this offense if they can get open down the field.

Kyle Williams

Williams had a rather underwhelming first season in the NFL. He was able to put the pads on for all 17 games for the Patriots, but he only garnered 10 catches on 21 targets for 209 yards. On that limited workload, however, he did manage to find the endzone three times. Like the rest of the receivers on the second-half of this depth chart, Williams needs to make the most out of his limited opportunities. Youth is on his side as the youngest receiver on this list, so there's a positive there.

Efton Chism III

Chism had to wait a while for his opportunities in his first season, but they did eventually come. The undrafted free agent had all three of his regular-season catches come in the team's final two games against the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins. Chism also showed that he too could be a downfield threat, with his average yardage per catch sitting at 25 during the regular season.