Brown reflects on his growth as WR
If it wasn’t for the help and guidance of a former Arizona Cardinals player, Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown wonders if he would be where he is today – on the precipice of playing on the biggest stage the NFL has to offer, Super Bowl 57 on Sunday.
Though he was a top-end prospect entering the NFL draft in 2019 after breaking school records at Ole Miss for most receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns, it wasn’t until he joined the Tennessee Titans and began working with receivers coach Rob Moore that he truly began to realize his full potential.
As the Eagles spent this week practicing at the Cardinals’ training facility in Tempe, Brown reflected on the three years he spent in Nashville with Moore honing his craft and learning how to be a professional.
“He was like a mentor to me, he still is, and he just helped me out tremendously,” Brown said of Moore, who spent five seasons with the Cardinals from 1995-99 and earned first-team All-Pro honors in 1997 after leading the league with 1,584 receiving yards. “The sense I have on the football field really comes from him. Just laying the foundation as soon as I got to the league, teaching me things, really just steering me in the right direction.”
Upon learning on Draft Day this past year that Tennessee had decided to trade him to Philadelphia in exchange for the No. 18 overall pick, which the Titans used to draft Arkansas receiver Treylon Burkes, and a third-round selection, Brown was initially devastated.
He had been angling for a contract extension to remain with the team that had made him a second-round pick and he wanted to continue working and learning under Moore. Things were pointing up, too, considering Brown twice eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards and had caught 24 touchdowns with the Titans.
When the trade went down, he expressed his frustration on social media and things got a little messy, something he said he now totally regrets.
“I think early on as a man I could say I was speaking from a place of feelings, and I had to learn it’s a business,” Brown said this week as he and the Eagles prepare to face the Kansas City Chiefs at State Farm Stadium. “But I have no hard feelings for nobody in Tennessee – the
fans, none of that. Tennessee gave me my first shot, so there’s definitely respect.
“I still have love for Tennessee.” It didn’t take him long to fall in love with Philadelphia, especially considering how he already had another close friend and mentor waiting for him there in quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Hurts was Brown’s host when he took his recruiting visit to Alabama. Although Brown opted for Ole Miss in the end, the two immediately struck up a friendship.
“Our relationship just kind of started from there and it just took off,” Brown recalled. “We stayed in contact and really became close friends. It just grew. He’s the godfather to my daughter, so that’s how close we are.”
Following the trade, Brown said it was Hurts who calmed his emotions and helped re-energize him for what waited ahead.
“That day was just full of emotions,” he said. “I went from sad to happy, back to sad, back to happy. But that phone conversation with Jalen, it just kind of spoke for itself. After he called me, the tears went away, and I was just excited with disbelief that I would be playing
with my best friend.”
Hurts became a finalist for the league’s Most Valuable Player Award after guiding the Eagles to a 14-3 record and passing for 3,700 yards and 22 touchdowns. Brown, in his first year with the team, finished fourth in the NFL in receiving yards (1,496) and tied for third in touchdown receptions (11). He earned second-team All-Pro honors and was named to his second Pro Bowl.
“I always reflect on how cool it is to play with guys you’ve known for a very long time,” Hurts said this week. “Talking with A.J., specifically, our whole back story and background, with me trying to get him to come to Alabama, it didn’t work out the first time, but it worked out this time and we’ve been enjoying it.
“We’ve hit the ground running.” Brown’s 1,496 receiving yards were the most by any player in Eagles’ history and after signing a four-year, $100 million contract with the team, the expectations only get bigger from here. Hurts is only 24, Brown 25, and there’s no telling how much more they can accomplish – whether they win Super Bowl 57 or not.
“I feel like if we keep going, keep growing as students of the game, I don’t feel like there is a limit,” Brown said. “I don’t want to put a limit on him, and I definitely don’t want to put a limit on myself. We’re both eager to get better. We’re never complacent and I think that’s the special thing about both of us.”
A shoulder injury shelved Hurts late in the season and he’s still working his way back to 100 percent, which has kept the Eagles from being able to rely heavily on the passing game. Hurts has yet to pass for 200 yards through two playoff games thus far, although Brown expects things to open up in the Super Bowl.
“Whatever it takes,” he said, adding of his experience this season, “It’s been incredible. Everything’s just working out. We’re playing good ball and man, we’re one win away from winning it all.”
He wouldn’t be here if it hadn’t been for the trade – and for the mentorship from Moore and the friendship with Hurts.
“Everything happens for a reason,” Brown said, smiling. “I had plans and God had other plans. I’m glad God had other plans. I’ll just put it like that.”