A.J. Brown is the best wide receiver in the NFL when ranked and graded by target depth

He’s temperamental. He’s kind-hearted and, at times, sensitive. He is also loved by his teammates and feared by his opponents (even if they wouldn’t dare admit to that publicly). We have learned most of what we know about A.J. Brown since he left the Tennessee Titans to join the Philadelphia Eagles.

Those who criticize him negatively don’t seem to know him. No one who spends any time with dislikes him. That ought to tell you everything you need to know, but we already know how this works. Terms like ‘Negadelphia’ exist for a reason.

Brown will always be under some microscope, but he seems happy. In the end, that and his undying thirst for competition are all that matter. Here’s a message for everyone who will line up across from him this season. You can’t stop him. Your only hope is containment.

Pro Football Focus offers an A-1 critique of A.J. Brown’s brilliance

Here’s some brutal honesty. Math isn’t any more fun now than it was in high school or college. Once upon a time, reading Pro Football Focus felt like calculus, but we’ve all gotten used to it. Now, if we’re being honest, we check them out several times a week. Recently, they offered some analysis of A.J. Brown’s brilliance.

Recently, they ranked and graded wide receivers by target depth. Brown is the standard between the line of scrimmage and nine yards downfield, earning a grade of 97.1. Lauren Gray is the writer of this one. Here’s what she has to say on the subject.

“Brown was targeted 57 times in the short area of the field, accounting for 48.3% of his targets on the season. He caught 45 passes for 492 yards (fifth in the league) and three touchdowns. Brown averaged 5.3 yards after the catch per reception and ranked sixth in yards per route run at 8.63. He secured six of 10 contested targets and finished in the top five in both missed tackles forced (12) and first downs (31). Nearly half of his first-down gains in 2024 (63) came on short-area targets.”

Brown is followed on this list by Chris Godwin and Drake London. Both earned grades of 96.6. This comes after PFF ranked Brown first vs. zone coverage and as their top-ranked wide receiver overall.

Since joining the Birds, he has earned two of his three Pro Bowl mentions. He has also been named a Second-Team All-Pro in each of his first three Eagles seasons.

He broke the single-season franchise record for receiving yards in 2022. He and DeVonta Smith unselfishly accepted fewer targets for the greater good last season, but make no mistake, they are the best duo in the game. Everyone knows it. The best part is this. They’re going to be around for a while.