On Draft Night, the Philadelphia Eagles flipped the 18th overall selection for stellar wide receiver A.J. Brown. Brown then agreed to a 4 year, $100 million deal. Over the last three years, the Eagles have used a first-round draft pick on a wide receiver: Jalen Reagor, DeVonta Smith, and now Brown.
In his first three seasons, Brown has recorded 1,000 plus yards in two of them. Brown and Smith form one of the best two receiver tandems in the NFL. Here is why the former Ole Miss standout will be a top 20 wideout next season.
Efficiency
His former team, the Tennessee Titans threw the ball just 485 times in 2020. He ranked seventh in points per reception scoring. Brown is third among wideouts with at least 200 targets and 10.2 yards per catch.
A touchdown has been scored on 8.1 percent of his targets. Also, he is one of three players to rank top 10 in touchdown rate and yards per target. Last season, the strong wide receiver finished 15th in yards per target and 17th in touchdown rate.
Eagles Offense
This upcoming season, Brown will be the number one guy for the team, especially in the red zone. The Eagles were last in pass attempts with 494 last season, 41 fewer than the Titans. I believe they will throw the ball more due to their newest acquisition, but how much more passes?
The head coach of the Eagles Nick Sirianni felt that the team was better off with a run-first offense rather than passing the football.
Jalen Hurts averaged 28.8 attempts last season which was the lowest per average last season. Hurts averaged 23 .8 pass attempts from Week 8 through the rest of their season. When the team lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it went to show that they needed another playmaker.
Ranking
Before the trade, Brown was top 10 for me because he was a clear-cut number one guy for the Titans. After the move happened, the 6’0′ dropped down into top 20 due to the fact that Smith was on the team and not as many pass attempts on his new team. In each of his first three seasons, here are his finishes for the season: 30th, seventh, and 26th. 24 touchdowns in 43 games mean he will be a red zone threat for Hurts this upcoming season.
Conclusion
The former Ole Miss wide receiver is a top 20 wideout this season. His efficiency is very good along with his touchdown rate. Any pass you throw to him, he can take it all the way to a touchdown due to his strength and size. The Eagles are definitely going to throw a lot more this season, as they only threw for 491 passes.
Brown ranks in the top 20 wideouts for me this season as I am confident he will have a great season in touchdown rate and efficiency. Hopefully Brown is a top 10 receiver and not a top 20 this season! I will be drafting him inside the top 20 for wideouts and so should you!
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