It has been a down season for A.J. Brown amid plenty of frustration from the All-Pro receiver.
But he thinks he’s still the same elite receiver.
At his locker on Thursday evening, Brown was asked about some speculation that he might no longer be that same player.
“I guess Saquon (Barkley) ain’t the same player either then,” said Brown, bringing up the Eagles’ running back who has also been having a down season. “I don’t got no comment about that. I don’t care about that.”
Brown, 28, made it very clear that he does not think he has lost a step.
“Y’all don’t believe that,” Brown said.
In nine games this season, Brown has just 38 catches for 457 yards and 3 touchdowns. His yards-per-game average of 50.8 is by far the lowest of his seven-year NFL career.
Some have pointed to Brown’s lack of separation. Brown is 78th out of 79 qualified receivers in the NFL in average separation per target (1.8 yards), per NFL NextGen Stats. That looks bad. But no one questioned Brown’s talent last season when he ranked 83rd out of 84 receivers in the same category.
Back in Week 8, Brown missed the second Giants game because of a hamstring injury but said he’s “fine” now.
“Nothing is wrong with me, guys,” Brown said. “I’ll say that.”
Last week, Brown publicly voiced his frustrations with the Eagles’ offense and his role in it. The Eagles then beat the Lions but the offense managed to score just 16 points. Brown had 7 catches on 11 targets but for just 49 yards.
Over the last week, two different reports have surfaced with unnamed players voicing frustration about quarterback Jalen Hurts. Hurts responded to those criticisms on Wednesday and Brown was asked about the topic on Thursday.
Brown declined to comment.
“Ask me about Dallas,” he said. “Thank you.”
When Brown was asked if he watches other receivers around the NFL, he said he doesn’t. When asked why, he answered through a smile.
“It gets me upset, so I stay away from it,” Brown said. “It’s a time and place for it. Right now, I’m just trying to stay focused.”
The Eagles on Sunday will play a Dallas team they beat way back in Week 1 at the Linc. Both teams have changed a good amount since then. The Eagles’ defense has really been good since the bye week but the offense is sputtering.
In Green Bay, the Eagles scored just 10 points in a win and they followed it up with a 16-point performance in another win on Sunday. Brown’s point last week, though, was that the offense needs to improve to carry its weight.
“I think we are (close),” Brown said. “I think that’s the mindset to have. Just cleaning up those mistakes. It’s not about being close. It’s really about us finishing drives. The defense has been playing incredible and we’re just trying to do our part and that starts with the things that take no talent, as Nick (Sirianni) says all the time.”