A.J. Brown and his quest to be the best in the league
A.J. Brown and his quest to be the best in the league originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
A.J. Brown thought about it. He furrowed his brow.
He started to speak a few times but then stopped himself and he thought some more.
Over 10 seconds passed and he finally began to answer a question on Wednesday about his motivation. At 28 years old, Brown is already a Super Bowl champion, he is already a three-time Pro Bowler, he is already widely considered one of the best wideouts in the NFL.
What's left?
Just continue to be the best version of myself," Brown said. I truly feel like I'm the best in the league and I want to put a stamp on it. So I'm definitely motivated but also, I have to put the team first. That's what I'll do, honestly.
I could go into (it) deeper but I think that's what I'm focused on. Being the best version of myself and proving it each and every day that I am the best."
Being on a team with an incredible offensive line and a superstar running back in Saquon Barkley means that sometimes Brown will have to take a backseat for the good of the team. Every receiver wants the football but Brown accepted that role in 2024 and made the most of his opportunities, still averaging 83 yards per game.
Anyone who watched him in 2024, knows how good Brown is.
If Brown isn't the best receiver in the NFL, there's a short list of those who are better than him. ProFootballFocus this offseason put Brown atop their list but he has never been a first-team All-Pro, finishing on the second team in each of his three seasons with the Eagles.
The players who have been All-Pros ahead of him? Justin Jefferson, Davante Adams, Tyreek Hill in 2022. Hill, CeeDee Lamb and Amon-Ra St. Brown in 2023. And Jefferson, Ja'Marr Chase and St. Brown in 2024.
Brown said his goal to become the best receiver in the league crystallized during pregame before his first NFL game in 2019. The Titans played the Browns in Cleveland and Brown still remembers the crowd going crazy when Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. took the field. (Brown had 3 catches for 100 yards in a win.)
That's that feeling, that adrenaline that I got," Brown remembered. I said, 'That's going to be me one day.' And here I am."
In his three seasons with the Eagles, Brown has caught 261 passes for 4,031 yards and 25 touchdowns. He already has the top two receiving seasons in franchise history and is still firmly in the prime of his career.
But Brown also clarified that his goal of being the best receiver in the NFL is a personal one. The measurement won't be stats or lists.
It's not what the critics say or whoever says it. That's for me personally," Brown said. God placed that in my heart. When I came in the league, he told me that I could be the best in the league. I think right now, I'm closer than I've ever been. Closer than I've ever been and I want to put a stamp on it.
That's for me. That's not for whoever else, I don't care what anyone else says. This is personal for me. That's what I'm chasing every day."