Some New England Patriots fans were unhappy with Executive Vice President of Player Personnel Eliot Wolf's decision to give up a first-round pick to land three-time All-Pro wide receiver A.J. Brown from the Philadelphia Eagles. But a new report confirms that Wolf was able to talk down Eagles' general manager Howie Roseman from asking for an even steeper draft haul.
"Wolf had told Roseman, at one point, 'If you get a 1 and a 2, go ahead and do it,'" SI insider Albert Breer reported. "But the Patriots never lost interest, with a dozen people who were with Vrabel in Tennessee vouching for Brown, and character crosschecks Pats people were doing with folks who’d been with Brown in Philly checked out, too. What stood out about Brown, even with all the drama he was tied to, was how he was described as a competitor, an alpha and a football junkie."
Breer went on to say that Roseman took Wolf up on his offer, shopping Brown all over the league.
The first conversation between the two parties took place all the way back in February at the NFL Combine. That is when Roseman gave Wolf the astronomical asking price of two picks inside of the first two rounds.
Wolf reportedly wasn't ready to part ways with even one single first-round pick until April, but he was steadfast on keeping his picks in the 2027 NFL Draft, which is widely considered to be generationally good.
By the time the draft came, both sides were pretty sold on this deal happening. Which explains why New England felt the need to draft their tackle of the future, and Philadelphia was compelled to trade up in the draft to get their wide receiver.
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