A.J.Brown

News: 2 days agoBrown was spotted Monday in the Patriots' locker room walking without a limp and wearing a small wrap on his injured right ankle, Taylor Kyles of CLNSMedia.com reports.

Spin: Kyles noted that Brown was wearing cleats, which could hint that he was able to do some on-field exercises. After being placed on injured reserve Sept. 12, Brown won't be eligible to start practicing with his teammates until Week 6, but the wideout at least seems to be making good progress in his recovery from the high-ankle sprain he sustained in the season-opening loss to the Seahawks.

ESPN Fantasy Projection: Brown was traded to the Patriots in June. The veteran receiver enters 2026 looking to continue his streak of finishing in the top 15 in fantasy points per game during each of the four seasons he was with the Eagles. That includes an 11th-place finish in 2025 in which Brown reached the 1,000-yard mark for the sixth time in his seven NFL seasons while finding the end zone exactly seven times for the third year in a row. Brown continues to benefit from elite usage (he has finished no lower than seventh among WRs in target share each of the past seven seasons) and elite efficiency (he has finished 80th percentile or better in yards per route run all seven years). He could use more end zone targets in New England (he had a career-low four last season), but Brown, 29, is set to work as Drake Maye's top target in a good Patriots' offense. He is a fringe fantasy WR1.