The 2026 NFL Draft starts April 23 in Pittsburgh, which means the football world is already well past the point of pre-draft rumors, wild speculation and smokescreens. Seemingly disgruntled Philadelphia Eagles wideout A.J. Brown once again became part of the kindling Monday, when ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that a trade of the three-time Pro Bowler "to the Patriots is still the likely outcome."
It's really not big news. This has been the expected outcome for some time. New England vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf hardly shot down the notion of a deal with the Eagles when asked about Brown during his pre-draft press conference last week.
"As far as players on other teams, again, going to keep the door open to anything that we think may improve our roster, whether that's with the player you mentioned or other players," Wolf said in response.
But it's also not going to happen during the draft − a key consideration that could change the calculus for a potential Brown departure down the line.
And while there could certainly be some deals before or after the Las Vegas Raiders officially go on the clock Thursday night − could the New York Giants engineer another significant swap, maybe involving Kayvon Thibodeaux, for instance? − here are three reasons Philly EVP/GM Howie Roseman's company line, "A.J. Brown is an Eagle," will almost certainly be in effect on the other side of the weekend:
