Barring injury or any of the hundreds of calamities that have been known to derail professional sports careers, the acquisition of veteran receiver A.J. Brown is going to make the New England Patriots a whole lot more fun in 2026.It might even make them a better team. That is, if you choose to look past the gazillions of stories you’ve read about how the tailwind of an easy schedule aided New England’s 14-3 record from 2025.If you’re looking for pure X’s and O’s and a breakdown of what Brown’s presence means for the Pats’ receiving depth chart, Chad Graff will have plenty of that. However, as advertised, we’re here to discuss fun … as in how much fun it’ll be to watch what happens when Brown teams up with Drake Maye, New England’s third-year, MVP-caliber, you-ain’t-seen-nothin’-yet quarterback.There’s a facet to sports that I like to call the entertainment within the entertainment. By way of example, it’s been hugely entertaining over the years to watch the Boston Red Sox play the New York Yankees. Still, there was entertainment within the entertainment when the likes of Roger Clemens and Pedro Martinez were on the hill. Or these days, a healthy Garrett Crochet.A Boston Celtics game is baseline entertainment, but over the years, the entertainment within the entertainment has been Larry Bird-Kevin McHale-Robert Parish and Paul Pierce-Ray Allen-Kevin Garnett and, recently, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.A great quarterback-receiver tandem has always been splendid entertainment. Crushing hits, cloud-of-smoke rushes and larger-than-life coaches like Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick and Andy Reid are all kinds of fun, sure. Still, the edge-of-your-seat anticipation of a talented quarterback connecting with his talented, go-to receiver is next level.I’ll get to some of my favorite quarterback-receiver tandems in a moment, but first, this isn’t a knock at the Patriots’ receiving corps from 2025. It was good, like most everything about the 2025 Patriots. Or better than most of us had expected entering the season.Veteran Stefon Diggs caught 85 passes for 1,103 yards and four touchdowns. He has had better seasons with the Minnesota Vikings and Buffalo Bills, but let’s not quibble. Diggs was fine. The ACL injury he suffered while playing for the Houston Texans in 2024 is no longer a talking point.True, Brown, who turns 29 in June, has logged seven grueling NFL seasons and has knees that require TLC. But he plays, and if he can deliver in 2026 the way he did for the Eagles in 2025, his name will often be paired with the name of New England’s quarterback. As in “Maye to Brown.” If the Patriots’ radio play-by-play tandem of bookish Bob Socci and broey Scott Zolak say it with great frequency in 2026, that’ll be entertainment within the entertainment.