Denver Broncos Trade for A.J. Brown? 3 Reasons Why They Shouldn't
The Denver Broncos are a rumored landing spot for A.J. Brown. But Denver should not trade for him because he is a diva who doesn't even try hard on the field.
ESPN's Bill Barnwell was on one this morning; he proposed the Denver Broncos trade for A.J. Brown this offseason.
In fact, he's not the only one. CBS's Tyler Sullivan also proposes the Broncos trade for Brown.
While Denver certainly needs receiving help, Brown is not the guy Denver should go after.
3 Reasons the Denver Broncos Should Not Trade for A.J. Brown
A Denver Broncos trade for A.J. Brown is a terrible idea because the receiver is a diva, he doesn't try hard on the field, and because of what the Broncos would have to give up for him.
Let's start with what Denver would have to trade for Brown.
Riley Moss for A.J. Brown? Hell no
Bill Barnwell says the Broncos should trade Riley Moss for A.J. Brown, along with a 2nd-round pick from 2026, and a 5th-rounder from 2027.
That's a hell no from me, dawg.
What's the old saying? Wide receivers are a dime a dozen? Yeah.
And finding a great starting cornerback is hard to do.
Moss has played solid football, at arguably the toughest position outside of quarterback, opposite the best cornerback in the NFL today in Patrick Surtain II.
Of course Moss is going to get targeted a ton; opposing quarterbacks would rather put their throwing hand into a wood chipper than throw the ball towards Surtain.
And for the most part, Moss has held up well when he's attacked. Sure, he led the Broncos in defensive pass interference penalties. In fact, only New England's Carlton Davis (9) had more DPIs than Moss (8) and Moss' 183 yards given up on the penalties were the most in the league.
But those DPIs fall into multiple categories; some were egregious, some were ticky-tack, and a few shouldn't have been called at all.
On the positive side, he's one of the more reliable cornerbacks when it comes to tackling. Moss' 71 solo tackles were 2nd-most in the league in 2025, and he was 7th in stops (26). Plus, his 15 pass breakups led the NFL last year. He's also a good pass rusher
On the down side, Moss' overall grade by Pro Football Focus (64.9) was 49th among cornerbacks, his coverage grade (62.2) was 59th, and he gave up 66 receptions this year, which was 3rd-most.
Denver has arguably the deepest DB room in the NFL. After Surtain and Moss, there's Ja'Quan McMillian in the slot—if Denver re-signs him, which they absolutely should—and then rookie Jahdae Barron. The only way trading away Moss makes even a little bit of sense is if the team thinks Barron is ready to start full-time across from Surtain.
CBS's Tyler Sullivan suggest the Broncos would trade their 2026 third-round pick (No. 94 overall), 2026 fifth-round pick (No. 168 overall) for Brown. Those are much more palatable than trading away Moss. But it's still a no from me, dawg.
Why?
A.J. Brown is a diva, would be bad for Broncos locker room
The Denver Broncos locker room was something special in 2025.
Seemingly every time there were interviews with the guys, they were joking around with one another or praising each other. It wasn't just the normal level of "I love my teammate" stuff; it really seemed genuine.
Denver's locker room camaraderie was one of the reasons why the team was able to compete at such a high level, going 14-3 in the regular season and being one game away from making the Super Bowl.
A.J. Brown, a complete diva, would wreck the locker room.
He complained time and time again last year about the offense, and specifically about him not getting the ball enough.
From ESPN in November and Brown calling the Eagles a shitshow:
"That's what I'm getting at. It's not about, 'I don't care about winning, all I care about is stats.' No. It's been week after week sometimes we're not doing our job on offense. You can't keep slapping a Band-Aid over that and expect to win late in the year and think you're going to go to that at the end of the year. It's not going to f—ing happen."
Even when he did get the ball, he put himself on display for the whole world to see. Brown complained about the play calling to the camera as he celebrated a touchdown catch.
[Highlight] AJ Brown after the TD “This when you throw me the f**kin’ ball! WTF is that?! Just throw the f**kin’ ball!”
by u/DrTrigger_Tears in nfl
What an absolute baby.
Brown, recently, on being misunderstood:
"I won't say I'm misunderstood because we understand each other perfectly fine cause we are competitors and when you're in that space, that's the only people that matter, you understand? So, like understand birds fly, fish swim...You know you gotta get up and make those sacrifices. Media, fans, and everybody else, they just watching the game."
Trading for A.J. Brown would likely blow up the Broncos locker room. No, thanks.
Rich Kurtzman
Brown doesn't even try hard on the field
The most ironic part of A.J. Brown complaining that he doesn't get the ball enough is that he doesn't even try hard on the football field.
He quits on routes all the time. He seemingly never gives 100%. And then he complains that the play caller, the head coach, or the quarterback is the problem.
Here's on example of him quitting on a route.
AJ Brown gives up on his route on a well placed ball by Hurts
by u/Willing-Eye7829 in eagles
Here's another:
Beyond just quitting on routes, Brown was straight-up awful in the Eagles playoff loss to the 49ers in the Wild Card Round.
He caught only 3 of his 7 targets, including dropping this easy one that should've been a first down.
[Highlight] AJ Brown drops the 3rd down conversion
by u/YoureASkyscraper in nfl
The Broncos need a receiver who will give it his all, especially in the biggest of games.
Denver's trying to win another AFC West title, and hopefully, a Super Bowl.
A.J. Brown won a ring with the Eagles after the 2024 season, but he plays self-centered football. Even if he was a 1,000-yard receiver last year, with lots of Super Bowl experience, he's still not a fit for the Broncos.
On top of everything else, he makes way too much money. His cap numbers the next four years are $23M, $23M, $28M, and $29M.
The Denver Broncos should not trade for A.J. Brown. Nope. Nuh-uh. No way.
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