New England Patriots teammates A.J. Brown and Drake Maye reacted to a viral photo of Brown wearing a jersey of franchise icon Tom Brady as a child.
“Look at that,” Maye said with a laugh in their interview with NBC Sports’ Devin McCourty (8:35 mark).
McCourty also asked them if Brown would be wearing Maye’s No. 10 jersey if he was a young fan again, but Maye believed that Brown would be wearing his own No. 1 jersey instead.
“He’d have that number one, probably,” Maye said (8:51 mark).
Brown and Maye are entering their first season on the same roster after New England acquired the star wide receiver in a June 1 trade with the Philadelphia Eagles.
While Brown is a Mississippi native, he’s explained that Brady is his favorite player in NFL history and cried when the Patriots selected N’Keal Harry over him in the 2019 draft (h/t Zack Cox of the Boston Herald).
The three-time Pro Bowler is coming off a successful tenure with the Eagles, recording at least 1,000 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in all four years as a member of the team.
Brown will now attempt to help New England remain a contender in the AFC after making a Super Bowl appearance last season. Maye was a key reason for the Patriots’ success, finishing No. 2 in MVP voting.
In 17 starts, he completed 72.0 percent of his throws for 4,394 yards and 31 touchdowns compared to eight interceptions. Maye also rushed for 450 yards and four scores.
The Patriots will open their 2026 campaign with a Super Bowl rematch against the Seattle Seahawks on Wednesday. Kickoff is at 8:20 p.m. ET.
