[FULL EPISODE] AJ Brown Trade Official, London Gets The Bag & Xavier Worthy Profile

**James Koh** (0:01)
We've got our Taycan is loaded and ready.

**Matt Harmon** (0:03)
Absolutely dominant on deep routes, absolutely dominant on short routes, excellent separation against man coverage. This is Reception Perception The Show.

**James Koh** (0:15)
Yo, what's cracking everybody? James K and Matt Harmon here with you. You're listening to Reception Perception The Show. All right, Matt. Actually, before we start, we should say that we were recording on Monday, and then literally minutes after we were done recording, the AJ Brown thing hit. So I had to issue a statement before our last episode, like, no, we didn't miss it. Don't worry. I know we're the wide receiver show, but no, we didn't miss it. It just came out after. Anyways, AJ Brown gets traded finally.
It's the least secret rumor in the NFL. AJ Brown again traded to New England. They trade a, what is it? Like a 20, it was like a 20, 30, first round pick or something. Like they're not going to see a first round pick until, you know, the, the next president or something. I don't know. It's crazy. But so they kicked that can way down the road, but still they still get a first round pick for AJ Brown. What was your thought? What was your reaction when you first heard about the trade becoming official?

**Matt Harmon** (1:15)
Well, I mean, we've known this was happening for a while, which is why, by the way, just to let us off the hook from a recording schedule standpoint, we record every Monday at 1 p.m. Eastern, we wrap up around 2:30 p.m. Eastern. So it was like two hours after.

**James Koh** (1:32)
Oh, okay.

**Matt Harmon** (1:33)
It was like two hours, not minutes.

**James Koh** (1:35)
You're right, you're right, you're right.

**Matt Harmon** (1:37)
And again, because we've known this was happening for, like the Miles Garrett thing, that was crazy. That broke a lot of people's hearts.

**James Koh** (1:42)
Oh, that was awesome, yeah.

**Matt Harmon** (1:43)
Which apparently that has actually been in the works for a while, not shocking, considering the contract and everything there. But anyways, point being, we've known the AJ Brown thing was coming. Okay, what we didn't really know was the compensation. But we knew it was, I mean, I'm pretty sure I said on this show in March, like at the end of March, like, are we sure there's not just a backhand, I mean, a handshake backdoor deal to send AJ Brown to the New England Patriots on June 1st? Literally, I mean, you know, not shout out to me here again, because this was obvious, but I was early on this thing, that this thing was coming on June 1st. It finally happens. And so now I think we can really unpack it, especially because the charting profile is up on the site for AJ Brown. So I think that the compensation here actually, which as you mentioned, is a 2028 first round pick and a fifth round pick in 2027
It was pretty clear that the Patriots didn't want to give up a first this year.
And they felt like giving up a first down the line was a little bit more palatable. It's still a first round pick though. They will still not be picking in the 2028 first round. So still they're getting a first round pick here, are the Eagles. And I think that it sounds like Howie Roseman really wanted to hold out for a first. Not like, all right, let's take a 27 second. No, so they wanted a first. But still, it's some level theoretically down of compensation. And I think that informs what should be our expectations here going in with AJ Brown, is that I don't think that the Patriots are expecting to get prime peak AJ Brown. And let's be clear when I say that, prime peak AJ Brown is a top three to five receiver in the NFL.

**James Koh** (3:30)
Right.

**Matt Harmon** (3:30)
I do not think that AJ Brown will be a top three to five receiver in the NFL this year for the New England Patriots.
That's just my read on it, based on what he was last year, which we will unpack here, and the fact that he is a 29-year-old receiver, he'll turn 29 later this month, a 29-year-old receiver with a long history of lower body injuries. I mean, this is a guy who, he was talking about this after they won the Super Bowl in the 2024 season, that he was getting his knee drained twice every week, leading up to, like, throughout that season.

**James Koh** (4:09)
Well, that doesn't sound fun.

**Matt Harmon** (4:10)