The Eagles made a huge splash with their second selection in the 2022 NFL Draft, trading the No. 18 overall pick along with the No. 101 overall pick to the Tennessee Titans for Pro Bowl wide receiver A.J. Brown.
Jalen Hurts has a dynamic new weapon, and the Eagles land a big-name, experienced wide receiver. Here's what you need to know about Brown:
• A 6-foot-1, 225-pound wide receiver, the 24-year-old Brown was drafted by Tennessee out of Ole Miss 51st overall in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft. In 43 career games, he's totaled 185 receptions for 2,995 yards and 24 touchdowns.
• Alongside Julio Jones, Brown was still targeted 105 times in 13 games last season and racked up 869 receiving yards. He suffered a chest injury in Week 11 and was placed on Injured Reserve. In his first game back, a Week 16 win at the 49ers, Brown recorded 11 receptions for 145 yards and a touchdown. He played in the Titans' Divisional Playoff Round game against the eventual AFC Champion Bengals, totaling 142 yards and a touchdown on five receptions.
• Brown's 24 touchdowns are the second-most from the 2019 draft class. His 16.19 yards per catch rank second behind Mike Williams of the Los Angeles Chargers for the most in the NFL (minimum 150 receptions).
• Brown and Hurts became friends when Alabama tried to recruit Brown out of high school. Brown chose Ole Miss, but the two stayed in touch. Hurts was in attendance for Brown's Draft Party in 2019 and Brown was seen on Hurts' Instagram story last weekend working out with the Eagles' quarterback ahead of the Draft. The QB-WR connection is already strong.
• In three seasons at Ole Miss, Brown set the program record for career receiving yards (2,984) and 100-yard receiving games (12). As a sophomore, he matched the Ole Miss single-season record with 11 receiving touchdowns. He earned First-Team All-SEC honors as a sophomore and junior and was awarded the 2017 Conerly Trophy, given to the best college football player in the state of Mississippi.
• As the No. 5 receiver in the country in 2016 according to 247Sports, Brown originally committed to play both college baseball and football at Ole Miss. He was drafted as an outfielder by the San Diego Padres in the 19th round of the 2016 Major League Baseball Draft. He signed with the Padres, preventing him from playing college baseball while still being eligible for football.
What the Eagles said about Brown
"Really excited just to have him on this team. He plays with great play strength. This is a strong man. He's quick for a big guy and he just catches everything. Those are things that really stick out from his tape. And there's no projection there. You've seen it and you've seen it for three years now. It's just exciting to put on his tape and watch it." – Head Coach Nick Sirianni
"It was a priority to get the right players. And this, for us, was the right player, was the right fit. I can't tell you that we were definitely going to draft a wide receiver in the first round. We had some other players we were looking at here, but I think we felt like this particular player, this particular person, the fit was really good for what we had and what we were looking for.
"A.J. Brown was someone we studied coming out and spent a lot of time on. We had a lot of love for A.J. Brown in that draft. Obviously, things went a different way in that draft. But, really excited to get him, just in terms of how Coach can use him and his vision for A.J. Brown in this offense and how he complements the other guys that we have here. And, as you guys may or may not know, his relationship with our quarterback. All exciting things and looking forward to getting him into Philadelphia." – Executive Vice President/General Manager Howie Roseman
