Insane stat that proves AJ Brown is the best wide receiver in the NFL

As we all know, AJ Brown is in the conversation for the best wideout in the NFL. There are a ton of metrics we can point to when measuring how great a wide receiver is. For my money, I always look at success rate in single coverage.

Through seven weeks, there isn’t a wideout in the NFL who’s better against single coverage than AJ Brown — and it’s not even close. When facing single coverage this season, Brown hasn’t let a catchable target hit the turf.

When Jalen Hurts has targeted him in single coverage and thrown him a catchable ball, AJ Brown has hauled in 16-of-16 attempts for 325 yards and three touchdowns. Hurts also has a perfect pass rating when targeting Brown in single coverage.

AJ Brown is the best wideout in the NFL

A.J. Brown vs single coverage this season

🥇 98.6 PFF Grade (1st)
🥇 16 catchable targets
🥇 16 catches
🥇 325 yards
🥇 3 TDs
🥇 158.3 perfect passer rating when targeted pic.twitter.com/xQN6ovIFMB

— PFF (@PFF) October 21, 2024

It literally can’t get any better than that.

I’ll hear fans and pundits question why Hurts relies so heavily on AJ Brown; question why he doesn’t have the same type of confidence when throwing to DeVonta Smith or Dallas Goedert. This stat says it all.

Smitty and Goedert are great receiving threats in their own rights, but Brown is clearly on another level.

On the season, Brown has caught 83.3% of the passes thrown his way, single coverage or otherwise. That’s by far the best mark of his career. He caught 57.7% of his targets in 2020, his next best season in this category.

Per Pro Football Focus, Brown is the second-highest graded wideout in the NFL this year, only behind Houston’s Nico Collins. Collins has only caught 60% of his targets, more than 20% less than Brown.

Granted, Brown has only suited up for three games this season, so it’s hard to say if this type of production is sustainable. Only time will tell.

Nevertheless, I don’t know if there’s a corner in the NFL who can go one-on-one with AJ Brown and consistently win. Or even contain him. He’s a monster in single coverage and he only seems to be getting better the longer he’s in Philadelphia.

When AJ Brown says he’s always open, he’s not lying.

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