A.J. Brown vs Trey McBride

“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.”

“Brown gives Drake Maye the true alpha this offense needed. Now he climbed into Maye's draft pocket, and while he can still pay off pick 16, the price feels closer to stacking tax than pure value.”

“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.”

“Repeating a first-place ranking in both categories is unlikely, and it will be even more challenging if the offensive line can't take a step forward in protecting Maye, even with A.J. Brown added to the receiver room.”

“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 are coming off a season in which Trey McBride provided the largest gap in scoring to the TE2 in league history (which does say more about the field than McBride himself), and he was the 11th-best player in scoring per game.”

“Last season’s production was heavily inflated by his 11 touchdowns, tying Trey McBride for the most at the position”

“ADP: -6 It will be hard for Trey McBride to top the year he had in 2025.”

“Loveland is the consensus TE3 for 2026 fantasy drafts behind only Brock Bowers and Trey McBride .”

“From Week 9 on, Loveland was TE2 in fantasy scoring behind only Trey McBride .”

“Round 3: Trey McBride (TE – ARI) I haven’t taken a receiver yet, but with Trey McBride still on the board, he was too good to pass up.”

“Neither should be drafted this high. Last season, McBride averaged 18.6 PPR points per game, and Bowers averaged 15.5 in 2024, the better season of his two years in the NFL.”

“Sleeper lists Trey McBride at $34, Brock Bowers for $27, and Colston Loveland at a shamefully low $18.”

“Trey McBride is the likely target leader here once again, but behind him, the fantasy market is split on Marvin Harrison Jr. vs. Michael Wilson.”

“Starting WR/WR, as we do in the mock draft below, could let you lean into Zero RB with an elite tight end, such as Trey McBride, available in the third round.”

“Trey McBride is notably left out of the preferred early tier for one analyst, given how much of his historic season depended on running 160 more routes than any other tight end in a pass-heavy, negative-game-script offense that may not repeat that context this year.”

“I know that sounds silly to suggest after Trey McBride was just second in the NFL in receptions and set a new record for the position, so allow me to dig into that.”