The Philadelphia Eagles were one of the most active teams when it came to trading first-round picks in the 2022 NFL Draft. They got things started a few weeks ago when they completed a trade with the New Orleans Saints that included four first-round picks. No one would have guessed that a trade for Tennessee Titans star wideout AJ Brown might come next.
On draft night, they didn’t slow down. Philadelphia made a trade up to the No. 12 spot to select Georgia defensive tackle Jordan Davis, who tested incredibly well at the NFL Combine. He ran the fastest 40-yard dash time at 4.78 seconds, for a player that weighs at least 325 pounds.
To move up three spots, the Eagles traded picks No. 15, 124, 162 and 166 to the Houston Texans. Their biggest trade of the night, however, involved bolstering their offense with an established player.
Philadelphia stunned everyone when it was announced that they had acquired wide receiver A.J. Brown from the Tennessee Titans. It didn’t take much to acquire him either, as the Eagles traded the No. 18 and 101 picks in the draft to the Titans and then signed him to a new lucrative contract.
Upon the agreement of the deal, Brown signed a four-year, $100 contract with $57 million guaranteed. Brown is one of three high-profile wide receivers entering the final year of their contract, along with Deebo Samuel of the San Francisco 49ers and D.K. Metcalf of the Seattle Seahawks, who were selected in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft.
A lot of the spotlight was on Samuel heading into the draft with a lot of speculation that the New York Jets were looking to make a deal. They ultimately stood pat, selecting Ohio State wide receiver Garrett Wilson with the 10th overall pick.
Instead, it was Brown on the move, who shared why the Titans traded him during the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
“This wasn’t my fault,” Brown told ESPN. “I wanted to stay, but the deal they offered was a low offer. The deal they offered wasn’t even $20 million a year.”
Tennessee had repeatedly said that they would not be trading AJ Brown put themselves in a precarious position by low-balling him an offer. The Titans’ loss is the Eagles’ gain, as they now have a dynamic pairing at wide receiver with Brown joining 2020 Heisman Trophy winner and 2021 first-round pick, DeVonta Smith.
Philadelphia was easily one of the biggest winners of the 2022 NFL Draft thus far, upgrading two positions of need and being aggressive with the draft capital that they have stockpiled.
