Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown agreed to a 3-year, $96 million ($84 million guaranteed) extension with Philadelphia, making him the highest paid wide receiver of all time, upstaging Detroit Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown and his 4-year, $120 million extension ($77 million guaranteed). Brown is coming off of a 2023 campaign where he was named a 2nd-team All Pro while tallying 1,456 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns. Brown’s record-setting contract will keep the superstar pass-catcher with Philly through 2029.
The 2023 Campaign: A Tale of 2 Halves
A.J. Brown was mainly utilized as a deep threat for the Philadelphia Eagles during the 2023 season, as he produced the most air yards when targeted (4th in the NFL), which translated to a 1,456 receiving yard season (5th in the NFL). Brown tallied 939 yards within the first 8 weeks of the season before coming to an uncharacteristic halt towards the end of the year. The receiver only tallied 517 receiving yards after the eighth week.
The 26-year-old, despite his poor finish to the season, still finished with an 43.5% win rate against man coverage, which placed 18th in the whole NFL. This mark finished slightly short of his percentage during the 2022 campaign, to which A.J. Brown placed 12th in the category at 43.0% (per PlayerProfiler). The 6’1” WR is clearly in the Eagles long-term plans as he’ll continue to grow with QB Jalen Hurts and play alongside WR DeVonta Smith.
A Super-Bowl Caliber Trio?
The Philadelphia Eagles had plenty of issues in the latter half of the 2023 campaign, and many of those were a result of A.J. Brown’s dip in productivity. However, the trio of Hurts, Smith, and Brown will get plenty of opportunities to bring Philadelphia another Super Bowl ring, as all three have now been inked through (at least) the 2028 season. The Eagles offensive core is going to be a menace to opposing NFC defences for years and years to come.