A surprise Myles Garrett deal stole the spotlight, but the arrival of June 1 also brought the trade the football world had long been expecting.
The New England Patriots are acquiring three-time Pro Bowl receiver A.J. Brown from the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-rounder.
How did each side make out? Let's break it down.
Patriots
It's easy to get excited about what the Patriots are building around their young superstar quarterback. Drake Maye put together a breakout season for the ages in leading New England to an AFC title last year, falling just short of Matthew Stafford in MVP voting.
Say what you will about Maye's strength of schedule, but there's a reason this was the closest such race since 2003. Maye led all quarterbacks in EPA/dropback, according to TruMedia, with his 0.28 output ranking second only to Lamar Jackson's 2024 campaign over the last five years. Two seasons into his pro career, Maye already looks like one of the best in the business.
And if he could enjoy that type of ascent with a mediocre cast of playmakers - Hunter Henry and Mack Hollins joined Stefon Diggs among New England's top three reception leaders in 2025 - it was only fair to wonder what he might do with some real star power by his side. The Patriots were evidently thinking the same thing.
After months of speculation, and insiders hinting that it was only a matter of time, we had reached the point where it felt like it'd be an upset if this deal didn't happen. If not for the Eagles needing to process the trade as a post-June 1 transaction for cap purposes, it probably would have been done in March. Either way, the aggressive move makes all the sense in the world for New England.
Brown gives Maye a true No. 1 receiver on the outside. Concerns about last year's drop-off in efficiency aren't unwarranted - Brown's 2.09 yards per route run was by far the lowest mark of his NFL career. But it was still good for 16th among all receivers. And in a Patriots offense far better equipped to maximize his skill set - not only winning one-on-one matchups vertically, but attacking the middle of the field on in-breakers and making plays after the catch - it's entirely possible that he's found the perfect landing spot for a rebound.
It also can't hurt that, after a tumultuous end to his time in Philly, he's back with the coach who helped develop him into the superstar that the Eagles traded for in the first place. If frustrations boiling over had anything to do with his down year, the opportunity to reunite with Mike Vrabel may be exactly what Brown needed.
The price tag does carry a bit of risk for a 29-year-old wideout whose game might be trending in the wrong direction, so we probably can't consider this a no-doubt, home-run move. But holding firm and not giving up a first-rounder in the loaded 2027 draft is a big win for New England. There will be no regrets about the compensation if Brown and free-agent addition Romeo Doubs can help Maye take his game to yet another level.
Any such development would have the Patriots in the Super Bowl conversation for years to come.
Grade: A-
Eagles
At the risk of sounding like a soft grader, I also like this deal for the Eagles. They're the least obvious winner of the four teams involved in Monday's blockbusters, as losing Brown is a massive hit to the offense and they'll have basically nothing to show for it until 2028. But evaluating the Philly side of this transaction requires a little more nuance than that.
Put yourself in Howie Roseman's shoes. You've got an aging receiver coming off the worst year of his pro career. After a drama-filled season, the entire league knows you have no choice but to trade him. And while there's reason to believe he's got some juice left in the tank, in what world is anyone stepping up to offer a 2027 first-rounder for a potentially declining asset?
Most general managers would have settled for a second-rounder and called it a day. Fortunately for the Eagles, Roseman is not like the rest.
As one of the few personnel czars who can confidently say he'll still be running the show for his organization for the foreseeable future, Roseman had the option of offering a compromise: a first-round pick two years down the road.
Other teams might effectively value a future first-rounder on par with a present-day second. When you've got job security, as so few general managers do, a first-round pick is a first-round pick. And who knows? Maybe the Patriots run into some trouble and that 2028 pick ends up being quite a bit earlier than their likely-late 2027 selection.
Considering Brown's status as a star player, Philly didn't have much of an ability to shop him around, either. According to Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, Brown gave the Eagles a list of four AFC teams to which he'd accept a trade: the Bills, Chargers, Chiefs, and Patriots.
Buffalo effectively bowed out of contention upon swinging an early offseason trade for DJ Moore, and there was no indication that the Chargers or Chiefs ever had any interest. The Rams reportedly got involved at some point, but talks falling apart left the Patriots as the only logical landing spot. Still managing to extract a first-round pick with that little leverage is excellent work from Roseman.
The grade takes a bit of a hit because I can't be too complimentary of a move that severely impacts the win-now Eagles' chances of, well, winning now. The offense suddenly lacks the big-body boundary player capable of helping Jalen Hurts do what he does best, and Brown will leave behind dead-money hits of $16.35 million in 2026 and $27.1 million in 2027. That hurts.
Still, this was just about as good as Philly could expect to do, given the circumstances. And with extra draft picks now at their disposal, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Eagles sniff around some sort of pivot move with an eye on keeping pace with the Rams in the NFC.
If the Raiders are out of it by November, for example, you can count on there being some rumblings about a pursuit of Maxx Crosby. Roseman will once again end up looking like a genius if the creative Brown deal helps Philly make that kind of splash at some point before the regular-season trade deadline.
Grade: B+
