The New England Patriots got Drake Maye a star wide receiver in A.J. Brown, and fellow offseason pickup Kevin Byard III knows firsthand what the Patriots are getting in the three-time Pro Bowler.
“When I was in Chicago [with the Bears], we obviously played against a guy in Justin Jefferson, and, for the most part, you need to point out where Justin Jefferson was on every single play. It’s the same thing with A.J.,” Byard said in an interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio on Tuesday. “When I’m lined up at safety, and I’m deep back there at 12, 14, 15 yards, whatever, I’m going to identify, where’s A.J.? Like, where’s he at? Is he lined up way out on the boundary at the X? Is he lined up in the slot or whatever? Let’s identify where he is, and now I can kind of get a good basis on, OK, this is where the No. 1 player is. OK, the running back’s here; the tight end’s here.
“It just shifts your philosophy to how you want to play defense.”
Byard, a three-time All-Pro, and Brown were teammates on the Tennessee Titans from 2019-21 and on the Philadelphia Eagles in 2023. Furthermore, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel was the Titans’ head coach during the two players’ three years in Nashville.
Last season (2025), Brown totaled 78 receptions for 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns with the Eagles. Over his four seasons with the Eagles (2022-25) — a stint highlighted by the receiver helping Philadelphia win Super Bowl LIX — Brown averaged 84.8 receptions for 1,258.5 yards and eight touchdowns per year. New England acquired Brown from Philadelphia in June for a 2028 first-round pick and 2027 fifth-rounder.
“Do you play cloud over top of him? Because you don’t really want to leave him one-on-one,” Byard said about Brown. “That’s what A.J. does best. He’s going to run those slants, those quick dig routes, those go balls. I don’t think anybody in the league is better than him when it comes to those routes and being able to break a tackle and take it the distance. So, he’s just a phenomenal athlete, phenomenal talent.”
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As for Byard, the veteran safety spent the last two seasons with the Bears (2024-25), reeling in an NFL-high seven interceptions in 2025; he totaled one interception, two sacks and 130 combined tackles in 2024. Byard spent the first seven-plus seasons of his career with the Titans (2016-23) before being traded to the Eagles during the 2023 season and signing a two-year deal with the Bears the ensuing offseason; he inked a one-year, $9 million deal with the Patriots this offseason.
Elsewhere on the wide receiver front, New England released Stefon Diggs — who led the Patriots with 85 receptions and 1,013 receiving yards last season — and signed former Green Bay Packers receiver Romeo Doubs to a four-year, $68 million deal.
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