A.J. Brown Looking Like A Prime Target In Fantasy Football
Fantasy

A.J. Brown Looking Like A Prime Target In Fantasy Football

Ian Hartitz analyzes the New England Patriots' pass catchers, featuring new acquisition A.J. Brown as the projected WR1.

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It may have been the worst-kept secret in this NFL offseason that A.J. Brown was on the move to reunite with Mike Vrabel as a member of the New England Patriots. Now that it's happened, it's easy to get excited about what a motivated Brown could do with phenom QB Drake Maye. What levels can they reach together? Ian Hartitz breaks it down as part of his New England Patriots Team Preview.

Is motivated A.J. Brown about to go for 1,500 yards?

The man sure looks happy! While it's possible last season's dip in efficiency is a sign the soon-to-be 29-year-old veteran has already played his best football (the knee reports also aren't exactly great), the dude did suffer a midseason hamstring injury and had to deal with life inside arguably the NFL's least-imaginative offense.

The longtime beast of a receiver still made more than a few awesome catches while continuing to flash that trademark high-end YAC ability.

Of course, Brown isn't exactly alone in this wide receiver room:

  • Romeo Doubs: Enjoyed career-best numbers across the board in 2025—and he looked good doing it! While Doubs doesn't exactly have one elite skill, he does everything pretty well, and he's 26 years young. He'll supply the sort of savvy intermediate route-running ability that would have been lacking in the absence of Diggs.
  • Mack Hollins: The soon-to-be 33-year-old wound back the clock in 2025 and posted his second-best season ever in receptions (46) and yards (550). The hater of shoes and soup is the sort of veteran cog who drives fantasy managers of other receivers on his team nuts, so accordingly, don't be shocked if he hangs around the non-AJB/Doubs rotation.
  • Kayshon Boutte: Boutte took some BIG steps forward in 2025, emerging as Drake Maye's favorite downfield target. Overall, Boutte managed to come down with 9 of his 13 targets thrown 20+ yards downfield last season—that 69% catch rate was tied with Diggs for the highest mark among 66 qualified players! Derek Stingley checks under his bed for Kayshon Boutte every night, but unfortunately, there doesn't figure to be anything close to enough fantasy-relevant volume on the table for one of the tallest 5-foot-11 human beings on the planet.
  • DeMario Douglas: The pint-sized (5-foot-8, 192 pounds) slot maven was one of many Patriots who generally made the most out of their opportunities last season, but he wound up playing even 40% of the offense's snaps on only two occasions last season.
  • Kyle Williams: Recorded the third-fastest ballcarrier speed of any wide receiver in the NFL last season. This crowded room limited the rookie to only 21 targets in Year 1, but his marks in yards per catch (20.9) and targets (10) reflect the big-play ability here. Like Boutte, probably not enough volume for a 2026 boom, but dynasty managers should try to keep a bench spot open for the speedy 23-year-old.

Ultimately, Brown comes in as a legit top-10 option at the position around fellow studs like Nico Collins and Drake London. He generally goes off the board after the giant late-Round 1 to mid-Round 2 running back wall, making him one of the game's better receivers over the past half-decade a pretty solid investment with a mid-to-late Round 2 pick. Doubs (WR5 range) is the only other pass catcher here worthy of normal league consideration, but keep an eye on potential Boutte trade murmurs–there could be something there.

Is Hunter Henry low-key a great late-round tight end option?

Kudos to Henry for finally gaining at least 700 receiving yards in a season. 10th try is a charm! Let's break down his outlook for 2026 …

  • Bull case: Flirts with double-digit touchdowns as the go-to red-zone option from MVP runner-up Drake Maye *and* is at least a bit more involved between the 20s as an intermediate threat without Stefon Diggs around.
  • Bear case: Age (32 in December) catches up to the veteran, and AJB winds up soaking up all of Diggs' leftover targets—and more.

Verdict: It sure felt like 2025 went about as well as possible for Henry … and he still couldn't quite finish inside the position's top-12 options. Now, the ADP distance between Henry and guys like Mark Andrews and Jake Ferguson is probably far too wide, but it sure feels like if we were ever going to get an elite top-5 season from the veteran—it would have already happened by now. My three favorite late-round tight end targets are Dalton Kincaid, Isaiah Likely and Chig Okonkwo.

Players Mentioned in this Article

  1. A.J. Brown
    A.J.Brown
    WRNENE
    PPG
    11.6
    Proj
    207.0
  2. Romeo Doubs
    RomeoDoubs
    WRNENE
    PPG
    9.2
    Proj
    139.3
  3. Hunter Henry
    HunterHenry
    TENENE
    PPG
    8.1
    Proj
    115.4

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