The Rams would have to pay a steep price to trade for A.J. Brown, but it would be worth it
What would a trade for A.J. Brown cost the Los Angeles Rams?
Earlier last week, it broke that the Los Angeles Rams had “checked in” on a trade for star Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown before making the deal for cornerback Trent McDuffie from the Kansas City Chiefs.
That smoke has not died down. The Athletic‘s Dianna Russini reported early Friday afternoon that the Rams and New England Patriots have consistently been making “strong pushes” to get a deal done for Brown.
What could an A.J. Brown trade offer look like for the Rams?
Much has been made about the price tag for Brown, with many Rams’ fans worrying that the Rams would consider giving up the 13th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft for Brown. Fortunately, the deal doesn’t seem likely to occur until well after the draft, so the 13th overall pick will not be in play.
The trade is an affordable one for the Rams in terms of cap space, but what about capital? How would that deal work?
For my money, the deal starts with a player on the Rams in need of an upcoming pay day: pass rusher Byron Young.
Now, this isn’t a slight on Young’s game in any way. Mostly described as a “raw athlete” pre-draft, Young has improved drastically every season in Los Angeles, and has formed a strong tandem with Jared Verse.
The hang-up is: he’s the No. 2 to Verse, and his play will likely make him one of the highest-paid rushers in the league. Overthecap has him with a $34 million valuation, and he’ll likely earn over that. With extensions open for Puka Nacua, Steve Avila, and Kobie Turner this offseason and Verse next season, the Rams might not want to spend that kind of cash for the No. 2 rusher on the defense, even with his improvement.
However…guess what team does need a pass rusher? You guessed it: the Eagles.
It’s been awhile since we’ve seen a player-for-player trade at wide receiver, especially a blockbuster deal like this. The last one was the Odell Beckham trade to the Cleveland Browns back in 2019. OBJ fetched a hefty price tag, as he and Olivier Vernon were traded for Jabrill Peppers, Kevin Zeitler, a first, and a third-round pick.
However, I expect Brown would fetch a similar price as what the Rams paid in the 2017 trade for Sammy Watkins. The Rams traded cornerback E.J. Gaines and a second-round pick for Watkins and a sixth-round pick. The trade could look something like this for the Rams:
Rams get:
-WR A.J. Brown
Eagles get:
-EDGE Byron Young
-2027 2nd-round pick
The biggest issue here is obviously that would put the Rams entirely out of rounds two and three for next year’s draft (at least, for now). If they have to move up for a rookie quarterback, they wouldn’t have a lot of capital to do so without giving up significant assets in the 2028 draft. However, for a Super Bowl and for the opportunity to have the roster in this kind of shape, I have to imagine that’s a price the Rams would be willing to pay.
Either way, the fact that this deal is even remotely being considered is a testament to just how “all in” general manager Les Snead is for this season.
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