AJ Brown proved once again on Thursday night that any team that passed on him in the 2019 NFL Draft made a massive mistake. The New England Patriots were one of those teams, and Pats fans probably don’t want to be reminded of how badly Brown wanted to land in Foxboro.
Brown put the Tennessee Titans on his back in his return from a chest injury on Thursday. He led his team to a 20-17 win over the San Francisco 49ers with 11 catches for 145 yards and a touchdown. That inspired NESN’s Zack Cox to bring up a 2020 interview in which Brown said he was convinced the Patriots were going to draft him 32nd overall in 2019.
Brown said he wasn’t invited to the NFL Draft, so he held a draft party at his house. He watched 31 picks go by without his name being called, and reality struck when the Patriots were on the clock. He recalled the experience on the “Bussin’ With the Boys” podcast last summer.
“I just saw the time kept going down on the Patriots’ clock and I was like, ‘They trippin’. I don’t know what the hell’s going on,” Brown said. “The pick was in. I know I didn’t get a phone call by now, so I’m like, ‘This s— is over.’ … I left everybody at the house and went home and went in the closet and cried my eyes out.”
You can see the portion of the interview below, but beware that it contains inappropriate language.
— Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) December 24, 2021
The Patriots have notoriously struggled to draft and develop wide receivers. To make matters worse, they still drafted a receiver with their first-round pick in 2019. Bill Belichick passed on guys like Brown and DK Metcalf to take N’Keal Harry, who has been a total bust.
Most teams probably regret passing on Brown, but it must sting even more for the Patriots.
Photo: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
