Is it a Hot Take to Say that A.J. Brown is Just as Good, if Not Better, than Terrell Owens was for the Eagles?
One of the things you hear a lot is something along the lines of “A.J. Brown is the best receiver the Eagles have had since Terrell Owens.” That is undeniably true. No one since 2005 has done what Brown has done in 2022 and 2023, not Jeremy Maclin, not DeSean Jackson, nor anybody else to put on the uniform.
It might not even be a stretch to say that Brown is better than Owens, at least in their respective Philadelphia tenures. That might seem like a little bit of an eye roller, since T.O. only played here for portions of two seasons, but what Brown has done at least matches, if not eclipses what Owens did in 2004 and 2005.
A quick side by side:
- Terrell Owens in 2004 and 2005 regular season (21 games) – 124 catches on 219 targets, 1,963 yards, 20 touchdowns, YPC around 16
- A.J. Brown in 2022 and 2023 regular season (25 games) – 148 catches on 228 targets, 2,435 yards, 16 touchdowns, YPC also around 16
T.O. always gets a sentimental nod because of the way he came back from injury and performed in the Super Bowl, so you have to put an asterisk on the postseason comparisons, but here’s what each guy did in their respective championship games:
- Owens in 2005 Super Bowl: 9 catches for 122 yards (14 targets)
- Brown in 2023 Super Bowl: 6 catches for 96 yards and a touchdown (8 targets)
One of the reasons Brown’s touchdown numbers lag behind Owens’ is probably because the Eagles had so many short yardage Brotherly Shove plays and designed QB runs in the red zone. Think about how many times Jalen Hurts and Miles Sanders found the end zone last year compared to how the Eagles were scoring in 2004 and 2005. The offenses had significantly different wrinkles, especially inside the 20. Otherwise, the extrapolations are pretty similar between both players. Owens, of course, was here at age 31 and 32, and went on to have three more 1,000-yard receiving seasons in Dallas. Brown is only 26 and has three 1k seasons to his name, while Owens only had one by age 26. The thing about T.O.’s career is that he played until age 37, and at a very high level. Brown has 10 more years to go before he even sniffs the career totals Owens put up, but he’s well on his way.
That said, they’re both elite, WR1-type of players who filled a dire position of need when they were acquired. Owens was a Godsend for Donovan McNabb, who had been throwing the ball to James Thrash and Todd Pinkston. Brown remedied the error of drafting Jalen Reagor and provided a big bodied target receiver who could go up and attack the ball like we saw on Sunday in Washington. He’s reason 1a why they came from behind to win the game.
It’s hard to make a direct comparison here because T.O. had the injury and then the whole stupid contract dispute took place. Brown has said some goofy things in the past, but he’s not 10% of the head case Owens was, nor is he a distraction or a problematic player, as much as some members of the media like to push that thought. Maybe for that reason alone he’s a better addition than T.O. ever was, but that’s for you to decide. If there’s a separation between A.J. Brown and Terrell Owens, the gap is not significant.
Is A.J. Brown the NFL’s best WR right now? pic.twitter.com/LoarYrvpWH
— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) October 29, 2023