A.J. Brown
vs Justin Jefferson

“At 28, Brown is a big upgrade for a Patriots passing game that ranked fifth in the league, a huge improvement from the Eagles’ 27th-ranked unit.”

“A.J. Brown was the round two pick, built on a significant situational upgrade. His new offense ranked ninth in neutral passing rate last year, compared to his old offense’s 15th-ranked mark, and that gap could widen further with continued quarterback development, a new star receiver alongside him, and a tougher schedule that should force more passing.”

“Even in a “down” season, Brown topped 1,000 yards receiving on a run-first offense and scored seven touchdowns. In ESPN’s open score and PFF’s receiving grade — both metrics that seek to evaluate a wide receiver’s performance even if he’s not targeted on a passing play — Brown ranked No. 9 and No. 13 out of over a hundred wideouts.”

“Getting AJ Brown, who was the WR5 over the final seven games of 2025, cannot hurt Maye. All three Ballers think he is a receiver who could truly finish as the WR1 overall.”

“Andrew Erickson isn't worried about A.J. Brown's "down" season. He believes it created a buying opportunity. Despite modest touchdown totals last year, Brown still produced at a high level while commanding an elite target share. Erickson expects Josh McDaniels to feature Brown as the unquestioned focal point of New England's passing attack. If that happens, Brown could easily return to top-three fantasy wide receiver production.”

“A.J. Brown and Dallas Goedert each missed just one game due to injury. Brown has since been traded.”

“Since entering the league in 2019, Brown has consistently demonstrated an ability to rack up massive yards after the catch (YAC) numbers, but has never been a true volume-based receiver. If one were to remove his totals for the 2023 season (which was an outlier), Brown averaged fewer than 70 receptions per season.”

“The analysts believe fantasy managers may be underestimating just how much upside exists in A.J. Brown's new situation. Derek Brown pointed to improvements in offensive philosophy and red-zone passing opportunities as reasons for optimism, and there was confidence that Brown remains one of the league's premier target earners.”

“In a putrid Eagles' passing attack last season, Brown was ninth in target share, 13th in air yards and eighth in red-zone target share. Now he moves to a team with an ascending passing quarterback and an offense that targets its receivers downfield.”

“A.J. Brown was involved in a trade that prompted rankings updates from the Fantasy Footballers.”

“We still have a strong sample of Brown playing at a high level last season, and he is going to play more snaps than Diggs did in this offense, with an upgrade in a complete offensive environment, keeping him firmly in play as a high-end fantasy WR1 for 2026.”

“Jefferson looked especially miserable last year while enduring the worst season of his career. With J.J. McCarthy completely overwhelmed as an NFL quarterback, Jefferson finished with 84 catches, 1,048 yards, and two touchdowns.”

“Justin Jefferson (WR – MIN) | ADP: 11.8 (WR6) While he has been a fantasy superstar since entering the NFL, Justin Jefferson is coming off a massively disappointing season.”

“Justin Jefferson (WR – MIN) Finishes Outside the Top 20 Wide Receivers The prediction: Jefferson, currently going as a top-six receiver, finishes this season outside the top 20 at his position. This is partly a skepticism play on his new starting quarterback’s fit in this specific offense, particularly real questions about accessing the middle of the field effectively. Even last year, on a per-route basis, Jefferson already graded as only a fringe top-15 to top-17 receiver in efficiency metrics, not a true elite option, once poor quarterback play is set aside.”

“Jefferson has been a fantasy superstar since he entered the NFL. Unfortunately, the veteran is coming off a massively disappointing season, finishing last year as the WR21, averaging 11.9 PPR fantasy points per game despite finishing seventh in the league with 141 targets.”

“With a better quarterback, Justin Jefferson is a top-five pick, but with J.J. McCarthy ‘s past poor play and the uncertainty of Kyler Murray , we get a discount on one of the best wide receivers in the league.”

“Last year, Jefferson was still sixth in target share (28.5%) and seventh in first-read share (35.1%), so we should all expect the Minnesota passing attack to run through their alpha wide receiver again in 2026.”

“Last year, Justin Jefferson had a horrible runout as the WR28 in fantasy points per game (WR14 in expected fantasy points per game). Obviously, a ton of his season was impacted by the level of quarterback play, but Jefferson also slid to 36th in separation score and 38th in route win rate (among 109 qualifying receivers, per Fantasy Points Data).”

“Justin Jefferson is the fifth-best wide receiver in the Madden universe, apparently”

“This wasn’t Jefferson’s fault, however. Among wide receivers with 50+ targets, Jefferson ranked 58th in catchable target rate (71%). J.J. McCarthy stunk, and all indications are that Kyler Murray is the clear favorite to be the starter in 2026, and possibly beyond.”

“Jefferson should immediately become Murray’s go-to receiver, making an overall WR1 finish well within reach.”

“The Ballers agree that if Kyler takes the leading QB role, they are confident that Jefferson will be back as a top-tier WR. However, they see him more as a back-end WR1.”