Why A Future First-Round Pick For A.J. Brown Was Good Enough For Howie Roseman

Once the Philadelphia Eagles' personalized Kübler-Ross model for the A.J. Brown trade reached the acceptance stage, GM Howie Roseman stood firm on one requirement: he needed a first-round pick in return for the best pure football player of the most successful run in modern franchise history.

After months of trying to hide the NFL's worst-kept secret, the Eagles dealt Brown to the New England Patriots on Monday for a 2028 first-round selection and a 2027 fifth-round sweetener.

Dealing one of the most accomplished wide receivers in franchise history this offseason runs counter to Roseman's core ethos. As recently as February, the GM said, "We're in the business of keeping great players, and A.J. is a great player."

Brown was also an unhappy player (insert your favorite conspiracy theory here as to why) and perhaps there was a philosophical shift toward Mike Tomlin's long-standing preference for "volunteers, not hostages."

Still, if Roseman was going to acquiesce to Brown's desire for a fresh start, one hurdle was non-negotiable.

"I think when we looked at the totality of the circumstances and the conversations we had with him - where we were, where we were going, where he was - that if we could find something that achieved our goal of getting a first-round pick going forward, it made sense," Roseman said to beat reporters including Eagles On SI less than an hour after the trade was official.

There were other benefits too, including "getting the money back to spend on other players on our team and other teams," according to Roseman.

Winning Outside The Margins

It never bothered Roseman that the pick was two years away.

The Eagles have not subscribed - at least since the Andy Reid–Joe Banner era - to the old-school notion that future picks should be heavily discounted.

In this case, the delay may have actually been preferable from an odds standpoint. Betting on uncertainty is likely going to trump the 31st overall pick the Patriots held in April after losing in Super Bowl LX.

Acquiring New England's 2026 first-rounder immediately would also have forced the Eagles to absorb Brown's dead cap money in a single year rather than spreading it over two.

"For us to take a 2026 pick - a late first-rounder - and obviously deal with the cap consequences that come with making a trade prior to June 1, it made sense for us to look at future picks," Roseman said. "We've always been in the mindset that a pick is a pick. A first-round pick is a first-round pick. It doesn't matter.

"Teams are still going to be playing football in 2028."

Roseman has the job security to know he'll still be making that pick - unless he flips the asset for something else in the meantime.

Many critics pointed to the Denver Broncos' trade for Jaylen Waddle, a less accomplished receiver than Brown, as the bar Roseman had to clear. Denver sent Miami a 2026 first-round pick, a third-round pick, and an exchange of fourth-rounders.

Coming off an AFC Championship appearance, that meant the Broncos surrendered Nos. 30, 94, and 130 picks for Waddle and the 111th selection. Based on trade chart the Eagles and many other NFL teams use, the total value of that trade was equal to around the 25th pick.

There is no guarantee the Patriots' 2028 selection will be lower than that, but it would hardly be surprising if it is.

The flexibility that future asset provides is also valuable insurance if the dramatic offensive changes this season don't take hold as hoped.

"I think from our perspective, getting a first-round pick for our team and having two first-round picks in '28 is a huge, huge part of this move," Roseman said. "When you look at the options of what you're able to do with multiple first-round picks, it's a game-changer. I feel very, very confident that those picks are the most valuable things you can add as you build your team.

"I know there's a lot of attention on the 2027 draft, but at the same time, looking at the '28 draft, I feel confident that's going to be a good one too, and that we'll be in position to really improve our football team."

Roseman offered fewer public details about why things reached a breaking point with Brown. He said the Eagles had conversations with him after the season in which Brown expressed a desire to play elsewhere.

It's not as if the Eagles were eager to move him, but everyone in the NFL is ultimately renting space, and circumstances change quickly.

"You can have a really good run with somebody and just feel like, ‘Hey, the next stage of my career, I feel like it will be better served starting fresh,'" Roseman said. "The conversations with him overall were positive and honest, and I think it just got to a point where it made sense from both sides."

Even so, losing Brown at this stage - even if you believe he's declining after his worst season with the Eagles - is a tough sell from a personnel standpoint. That reality was underscored at Tuesday's OTA practice. Rookie Makai Lemon was sidelined with a hamstring injury, and the wideouts getting first-team reps opposite DeVonta Smith were Dontayvion Wicks, Hollywood Brown, and Elijah Moore.

This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/eagles/onsi as Why A Future First-Round Pick For A.J. Brown Was Good Enough For Howie Roseman .

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This story was originally published June 6, 2026 at 8:00 AM.