00:00A.J. Brown is a Patriot.
00:04Well, we knew that was going to happen.
00:06Schefter kind of confirmed that a couple of months ago.
00:09But it did take long enough to where we were like,
00:12hey, you think everybody's going to swoop in here?
00:16Obviously, that did not happen.
00:18Let's start with the trade itself, Tom.
00:20Because there was a lot made about the Eagles' return.
00:24Did you feel that there was a winner or a loser in this A.J. Brown?
00:29You know, Philadelphia Eagles, New England Patriots trade?
00:33You know, ultimately, I'm okay with it really on both sides.
00:37You know, the Pats got what they ultimately needed,
00:40which is a true number one receiver for a still young
00:43and still developing quarterback.
00:45And I know they made some other moves on offense in terms of the receivers.
00:48You know, they kind of need to bolster that.
00:50I'm fine with what the Eagles did.
00:52And whether or not the picks come to fruition down the line,
00:57from a team mentality and part of the distraction that A.J. Brown brought to the team,
01:03you know, kind of, you know, cleaning their hands of this situation and moving on,
01:06I think is ultimately a win.
01:07So even if the picks turn out to be okay, it could still come out net positive for them.
01:12It doesn't have to be some blockbuster, all-pro players that they end up drafting.
01:16If they're just good, solid players, I think this is going to be good for both sides.
01:20Yeah, so I just took a lot of issue with people who said that the Eagles
01:27waiting until 2028 for the draft pick made a mistake.
01:30I actually think, no, to be honest with you, Tom,
01:33and I know how people are going to label this, Eagle fan, I really don't care.
01:36I'm right.
01:37I think it's the Eagles taking advantage of outdated concepts in this league once again.
01:42You know, there's a number of draft charts that people use to come up with the value
01:45for what works, and forgive me for not knowing, but, like, there's, like,
01:49the Jimmy Johnson one, but then there's, like, a second one,
01:51and the Eagles often operate on the second one.
01:52I think it's one of the reasons they get a lot of deals done
01:54is because sometimes, you know, teams are like, oh, this is great for us,
01:58and they're just like, yeah, you're getting smoked again.
02:01People are like, the further out, add a round on,
02:05and the Eagles were like, a first-round pick's a first-round pick,
02:09and guess who's right?
02:11The Eagles.
02:13When 2028 comes around, guess what?
02:16The Eagles have an extra first-round pick,
02:18not to mention the potential for Philly to never use that draft pick
02:24and make a trade, which, so, I just, I'm not saying that,
02:31oh, the New England Patriots got smoked or lost,
02:35but the notion that the Eagles waiting for 2028 for the draft pick
02:39was a mistake is crazy.
02:40Let's be clear about this.
02:42There were three options then, right?
02:44Well, I guess there were four outcomes here.
02:46The 26th first-rounder, the 27th first-rounder,
02:50the 28th first-rounder, no first-rounder.
02:53Some people said the Eagles were going to get no first-rounder.
02:55They got a first-rounder.
02:56Okay, boom, so they already did great.
02:57The 26th first-rounder was the 31st overall selection.
03:02Anybody want to take the bet that that'll be the worst of the three
03:08in terms of where it lands?
03:09I think everybody would agree.
03:11You know, maybe you think the Pats win the Super Bowl
03:12in one of the next two seasons, but, you know,
03:16Tom doesn't live in Foxborough,
03:18and those are pretty much the only people who are crazy enough to think that.
03:21Okay, so the Eagles have now, it's either a 27 first or a 28 first,
03:26and the immediacy of the 2027 first is interesting.
03:31The draft class hype around the 2027 first is interesting,
03:36but, Tom, don't you think that it is more likely
03:40the New England Patriots are better this coming season than the following?
03:46I think so.
03:47So I think the Eagles, who, by the way, entered this negotiation
03:53wanting to get rid of a player,
03:56the player desperately didn't want to be there,
03:59picked his destination,
04:01and the Eagles couldn't trade him until June 1st,
04:06dominated this setup here.
04:08Everything went on their terms.
04:09The Pats wanted this deal done in April.
04:11The Eagles said, no, you're going to wait two months,
04:13and that's exactly what happened.
04:15All right, the 2026 pick, you know, not being able to use it,
04:20we're not getting in at 31st, I think that's a win for the Eagles.
04:23And, you know, the fact that they had the wait,
04:24we knew where he was going to go.
04:25We knew that he was going to go to the spot there for it.
04:29Like I said, you couldn't negotiate openly with other teams.
04:32Like, oh, give us a first and a second, or this first, or that second,
04:34or another first, or whatever it might be.
04:36And, again, to your point, which I think is the biggest thing,
04:39is they may never use this 2028 first-round pick.
04:42If they have to flip this pick to another team to acquire a player,
04:46offense, defense, someone to protect Hurts, another edge rusher,
04:49whatever it might be in the far-flung future of two-plus years before the draft
04:54rolls around, that pick may never be realized, and they can get a player that
04:58will help them now in this championship window.
05:01And that's the most important thing.
05:03Everyone likes to talk about it as if it's set in stone.
05:05So I like it for both sides because it does alleviate the eagles of whatever
05:10you want to call it, a locker room distraction, media distraction,
05:14all these sorts of things.
05:15But they got back things that people didn't expect them to get back,
05:18and the Pats got what they needed, a true stud wide receiver to help the
05:23quarterback that's going to be there for the next 10 or 15 years
05:26and help the rest of the receivers along the way.
05:28Because if the defense is going to be worried about A.J. Brown,
05:31what the Pats do with the other players, that will all be elevated.
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