Fantasy Football Video: Does a Mike Vrabel-A.J. Brown reunion in New England make sense?

The New England Patriots fell short of their ultimate goal — a Super Bowl championship — losing to the Seattle Seahawks, 29-13. MVP runner-up Drake Maye nearly threw for 300 yards in the loss despite Seattle dominating most of the game. Maye operated most of the season with a rag-tag bunch of receivers, led by veteran Stefon Diggs.

But when you reach the biggest stage and Mack Hollins is your leading wideout, you may need to consider making some additions in the offseason. Matt Harmon and Scott Pianowski talked about what the Patriots can do to shore up the receiver position with a splashy addition on the latest episode of the Yahoo Fantasy Forecast.

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Pianowski begins by connecting the dots between New England head coach Mike Vrabel and Brown, the two having spent three seasons together in Tennessee prior to Brown being sent to Philly. Might a reunion make sense?

We know Brown was unhappy for most of the 2025 season with the Eagles. Still, the Pro Bowl wideout was able to post a fourth straight 1,000-receiving-yard season with seven touchdowns. Brown will turn 29 years old before the 2026 regular season and has four years remaining on his contract.

Harmon plays devil’s advocate to Pianowski and thinks it may not be wise to trade, say, the 31st pick in the 2026 NFL Draft in a deal for Brown, a player whom he views as in decline. Now, that doesn’t mean that Brown is “cooked,” but Harmon says we don’t normally see receivers return to elite status once the decline starts.

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Pianowski closes by saying, of course, you want someone who is trending up or draft somebody who can evolve into a top wideout. But teams aren’t usually jumping at the chance to trade a young, promising wide receiver, so the Patriots may have to take what they can get, whether that’s via trade, free agency or in the draft.

Yahoo analyst Justin Boone has Brown as the WR11 in his early 2026 fantasy football WR rankings. Perhaps a move to a better situation, or simply out of Philly, will boost Brown’s stock.