The Patriots are trying to change the shape of their passing game, and Julian Edelman thinks the result could be a very big year for A.J. Brown. That is not just a star-player endorsement. It is a clue about how New England wants to build around Drake Maye in 2026, with added receiving help and a clearer idea of how Josh McDaniels can move the offense forward.
Speaking on NBC Sports’ Tom E. Curran’s Patriots Talk Podcast, Edelman said the Patriots had brought in Romeo Doubs as part of their offseason additions. He tied that to Brown’s outlook, calling him a true No. 1 receiver and saying the Patriots have probably not had a player like that since Randy Moss. In other words, this is not just about adding bodies. It is about adding the kind of target that changes how defenses have to play the whole offense.
Edelman’s case for Brown was built on McDaniels’ track record. He pointed to Moss’ first year with the Patriots, when the receiver had 23 touchdowns, and compared that to his own featured season, when he caught 105 passes. The point was simple: McDaniels has a history of creating focal points and getting them the ball in ways that maximize production. That matters here because Brown is not being asked to be merely useful. He is being positioned as the featured pass-catcher for Drake Maye in Foxborough.
That framing matches what Brown has said about McDaniels, too. Earlier this summer, Brown arrived in New England and met with the coach in June at Foxborough. Brown later praised McDaniels, saying he is making the job easier, creating matchups and moving him around. He also said McDaniels has been in the offense for what feels like 25 years, which is a reminder of both the detail and the volume of information Brown is processing.
The important part is that this is not purely about one receiver or one quote. The Patriots fell one game short of a Super Bowl title in 2025, so the margin for error is still small. If Brown really is the featured piece, and if Doubs is part of the broader offseason addition package Edelman referenced, then the offense should have more answers than it did a year ago. The question is whether those answers arrive fast enough for a team that wants to move from promising to dangerous.
Patriots Schedule: Romeo Doubs and Marcus Bryant among players to watch before Saturday night’s preseason game may offer the next small clue, but the larger picture is already clear. Edelman believes the Patriots have added enough around the passing game to make Brown a central figure, and if McDaniels can make that structure work, New England’s offense could finally start to look like it has a real identity.
