Philadelphia

Eagles

Proche is a sixth-year vet who spent last season with the Titans. The former sixth-round pick has caught 34 passes for 364 scoreless yards in his career and also has 68 punt returns to his name. The veteran receiver could catch on to the Eagles’ roster as a special teams contributor, but given the current depth of the Eagles’ receiver room, it’s hard to imagine him having any role in the passing game if he were to earn a spot.

Berman notes that Barkley had 136 targets in his final two seasons with the Giants compared to just 93 with the Eagles over the past two years, and adds that new OC Sean Mannion was teammates with Todd Gurley when Gurley averaged 84 targets in 2017 and 2018 with “a similar offensive scheme.” A.J. Brown’s absence will absolutely leave a target vacuum that Barkley could step into. If so, that would be a major boon for his fantasy prospects in 2026.

Mosher notes that Bigsby’s one-cut running style is a great fit for new OC Sean Mannion’s scheme, saying “there’s no question he excels at planting one foot in the ground to getting downhill quickly.” He believes Mannion would be “smart” to get Bigsby involved in short-yardage situations to give starting RB Saquon Barkley’s body some rest. We see the logic here, although adding another short-yardage ball carrier to the rotation could muddy up fantasy projections a tad. Regardless, Bigsby is looking like a high-end bench stash this season.

No major cause for concern just yet, but it’s worth monitoring how he rebounds from a hamstring injury. With A.J. Brown now officially on the Patriots, Lemon is ticketed for a fairly big role in Philadelphia’s new offense in his rookie season. We’d be surprised if it had major breakout potential, but a WR3 season is probably in the range of outcomes if everything goes right.

Mitchell now gets to be the “other” player who has been on New England and Philadelphia’s rosters this offseason. Released by the Patriots after the draft, Mitchell will try to catch on as a depth back behind Saquon Barkley.

The Eagles are also receiving a 2027 fifth-round pick from the Patriots in exchange for Brown. After spending months waiting for this trade to become official, the two sides finalized things shortly after the post-June 1 deadline took effect on Monday, sending Brown to the Patriots and giving Drake Maye an elite WR1 to pair with Romeo Doubs and company. Brown grew increasingly frustrated with his role in Philly’s run-heavy offense last season, which made him a likely trade candidate this offseason if the team could find a suitor. With Stefon Diggs no longer in Foxborough and Maye ascending the ranks of NFL quarterbacks, pairing Brown with Maye for the foreseeable future seemed like a no-brainer for the Patriots, who were able to avoid dealing their 2027 first-round pick. Brown will turn 29 this offseason, but has totaled 1,000-plus yards in each of his four seasons with the Eagles, helping them to their second Super Bowl title in 2024. He’ll profile as a fringe WR1/WR2 in fantasy leagues and should see a nice increase in targets next season.

We will all breathe a collective sigh of relief when this trade is completed. Schultz said the two sides have “had deep discussions” on a potential trade, and also confirmed previous reports from The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane that the deal would include a 2028 first-round pick going back to the Eagles. It truly feels like only a matter of time before this deal gets done, as we all continue to wait for the post-June 1 deadline to officially take effect. It wouldn’t be surprising if this deal became official before the end of the day.

In a post on X, McLane says, “from what I understand,” the return for Brown is “straight up a 2028 first-round draft pick.” We’ll see if that’s the case if/when a deal between the Eagles and Patriots eventually gets done, but that would be a steep drop from the compensation the star receiver was expected to generate. It’s been reported that the Patriots are unwilling to deal a first-round pick for Brown, so it’s possible this is how the two sides agreed to a deal for the Eagles to move on from the disgruntled receiver. If a deal does happen, we wouldn’t expect it to come before 4:01 PM EST, which is when it would officially become more financially feasible for the Eagles as a post-June 1 deal. Brown caught 78 passes for 1,008 yards and seven touchdowns last season in a down year, and would immediately slot in as the Patriots’ top receiving option if he’s dealt.

Toure is a former seventh-round draft pick who spent parts of last season with the Broncos and Saints. He appeared in just one game last season, catching 1-of-3 targets for nine yards, and has a career receiving line of 14-163-1. Toure will have to battle for a spot on the 53-man roster this season, and faces an uphill battle to make the team even if A.J. Brown is traded.

The two sides are currently “working on” trade terms. The Patriots hope to get the deal done shortly after the league calendar rolls over at 4:01 pm Eastern tomorrow, at which time, the Eagles can spread out Brown’s salary cap over two seasons instead of one. Per Fowler, the Patriots “have not been overly crazy” about meeting the Eagles’ first-round-pick asking price. He wonders if the Eagles would be comfortable accepting a conditional pick for Brown, or if they might be willing to send a pick of their own to New England. Ending this saga as quickly as possible would likely be best for all involved, because it ends the storyline for the Eagles and allows Brown to begin studying his new playbook before training camp.