The AJ Brown trade was bad in the moment, and somehow looks worse years later

We are in A.J. Brown's third season with the Philadelphia Eagles. He is about to appear in his second Super Bowl.

There has been more to Philly's success, of course, but Brown's arrival coincided with a noticeable spike in winning. Jalen Hurts does not reach his current level, that of one of the NFL's winningest quarterbacks, with Brown there to catch passes and create fissures in opposing defenses.

The 2024 campaign was another dominant showcase for Brown, despite a few hiccups in the Eagles' passing attack as Saquon Barkley took center stage. Brown finished with 1,079 yards in just 13 games, notching seven touchdowns and averaging 16.1 yards per catch.

A bonafide All-Pro wideout and on the shortlist of the very best at his position, Brown's arrival has been an unmitigated success for the Eagles. So, what about the Tennessee Titans, who gave up on their generational wide receiver out of fear of what his second contract might look like?

Well... it has not been great. The Titans traded for the Nos. 18 and 101 picks in the 2022 NFL Draft. The 18th pick was burned on Treylon Burks, the so-called A.J. Brown replacement, who has a grand total of 699 yards and one touchdown through three seasons. The 101st pick was used to trade back with Tennessee's other first-round pick.

A.J. Brown trade was a home run for the Eagles and a disaster for the Titans

Tennessee went 12-5 and made the playoffs in Brown's final season with the team. Mike Vrabel won Coach of the Year and the Titans went to the AFC Divisional Round, where Joe Burrow's Bengals played spoiler. It was a three-point loss to the eventual AFC champs. A couple years prior, when Brown was a rookie, the Titans went to the AFC Championship Game.

In the years since Brown's departure, it has gotten progressively worse. The Titans won seven games in 2022, six in 2023, and three in 2024. Vrabel got the boot after 2023, and Tennessee hired none other than Brian Callahan, Cincinnati's former OC and the architect behind Joe Burrow's immense early-career success, to replace him. Callahan, unfortunately, was unable to get Will Levis up to speed at quarterback, with Tennessee's lackluster WR room doing him zero favors.

The Eagles, again, are in their second Super Bowl in a three-year span, with Brown playing an essential role throughout. He reeled in six catches for 96 yards and a touchdown in Philly's blowout NFC Championship victory over the Washington Commanders last Sunday. It has been a relatively muted postseason for Brown with Barkley eating up touches in the backfield, but that shouldn't negate the Eagles' appreciation of Brown. He still puts tremendous stress on defenses and shows out when the football does come his way.

This is the sort of trade that can define a generation for both teams. A lot has gone wrong in Tennessee aside from the Brown deal, but that level of asset mismanagement — essentially whiffing on a first-round pick after trading away your most dependable offensive weapon — can kill all momentum for an organization.

Philadelphia's front office, meanwhile, has emerged as the NFL's gold standard with Howie Roseman in charge. The Brown trade is arguably his greatest achievement.