A.J Brown says he’s ’90 percent’ there leaning Patriots offense

AJ Brown’s ability to learn the Patriots playbook and adapt his game to what… Drake May The rest of the offensive needs will be crucial for New England this season.

After the loss Stefon Diggs This offseason, the Patriots will rely on Brown as their top option at receiver.

Brown has familiarity with coach Mike Vrabel, having spent his first three years at Tennessee while he was the Patriots’ coach there.

But he’s learning a new offensive system under Josh McDaniels. He told reporters Monday that he feels comfortable with what he is learning.

“The offense is I’m in a good spot, a pretty good spot,” Brown said. “I would say I’m 90 percent, and it’s really about executing and staying on the same page with Drake every day.”

When asked to clarify his comments, Brown said the 90 percent estimate had to do with how much he knew about the crime, not his physical condition.

When Brown first arrived in Foxboro in June, he said he felt great. Reports have surfaced that Brown has a degenerative condition in his knee. Brown said there was nothing to worry about. Vrabel answered a follow-up question about that topic Monday, saying the Patriots are confident he’s healthy.

“I think a lot of things are being made up and people are telling stories,” Vrabel said. We are very confident about where he is physically. He did it all. Will he do everything? no.”

“He’ll have time with me, Frank [Piraino]Jim [Whalen] Or we as a group decide that, just like Morgan [Moses] Yesterday, just like Reggie [Gilliam] Yesterday, there would be things. But I think he got off to a really good start, mentally and physically, and settled in with his team.

Brown made a joke when asked if he and McDaniels have gotten to the point where the offensive coordinator takes over and says what he likes or what he wants to do in certain situations.

“I can’t get into that,” Brown said with a smile. “I’ve been with [Vrabel] Taller than me.”

The key to getting on the same page with May is “constant communication,” Brown said. Listening to each other, getting to know how they like to operate, and spending time building communication are all part of what goes into a quarterback-receiver connection.

There were some hiccups. Brown dropped a pass from Maye on the first day of camp and Vrabel chewed him out because of it.

“In the first team meeting, he tore me up because I couldn’t catch him,” Brown said Monday after the Patriots’ third practice of camp. “Early on as a rookie, I didn’t like it very much. Now I know he’s coming from a great place. He expects me to play this game, and I do.”

When asked about the play, Maye said he wanted to start camp with a bang by setting up Brown to play with Christian Gonzalez in coverage. Instead, Brown was unable to clear the ball with one hand and the pass fell to the ground incomplete.

“Just bring it,” Brown said. “I did the hard part. I got him away from my body. I just brought him up with my other hand.” [Vrabel] He doesn’t care about style points and I don’t either. So, he probably thought I was trying to stir up the crowd or something. But, it is [Vrabel]-You know. Take everything with a grain of salt, listen to it, and get the catch.

These growing pains are part of building connection. Brown says he’s come a long way in terms of learning crime. The chemistry test with May will continue this summer during camp.

Khari A. Thompson

Sports reporter

Khary Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khary covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.