A.J. Brown says he’s ’90 percent’ there in terms of learning the Patriots’ offense

A.J. Brown’s ability to learn the Patriots’ playbook and adapt his game to what Drake Maye and the rest off the offense needs will be crucial for New England this season.

After losing Stefon Diggs in the offseason, the Patriots will count on Brown as their top option at receiver.

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

But, he’s learning a new offensive system under Josh McDaniels. On Monday, he told reporters that he’s getting comfortable with what he’s learning.

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

When asked to clarify his comments Brown said the 90 percent estimation was how about how well he knows the offense, not his physical status.

When he first arrived in Foxborough in June, Brown said he felt great. Reports had surfaced about Brown having a degenerative condition in his knee. Brown said it was nothing to worry about. Vrabel answered a follow up question about it Monday, saying that the Patriots are confident that he is healthy.

“There is, I mean, I think a lot of things get fabricated and people tell stories,” Vrabel said. We are very confident in where he is at physically. He has done every single thing. Will he do every single thing? Nope.”

“He will have time where me, Frank [Piraino], Jim [Whalen] or us as a group decide that, just like Morgan [Moses] yesterday, just like Reggie [Gilliam] yesterday, there will be things. But I think he has gotten off to a really good start, both mentally and physically, and acclimating himself to his team.”

Brown cracked a joke when asked if he had reached the point with McDaniels where the offensive coordinator and say what he liked or what he wanted to do in particular situations.

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

The key to getting on the same page with Maye, Brown said, is “non stop communication.” Listening to each other, getting a feel for the way they like to operate, and spending time building the connection are all part of what goes into that quarterback-receiver connection.

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

“First team meeting, he ripped me for not bringing in a catch,” Brown said Monday following the Patriots’ third practice of camp. “Early on as a rookie, I didn’t really like that too much. Now I know it comes from a great place. He expects me to make that play, and so do I.”

When asked about the play, Maye said he wanted to start camp off with a bang by setting Brown up to make a play with Christian Gonzalez in coverage. Instead, Brown was unable to haul in the one-handed catch attempt and the pass fell to the ground incomplete.

“Just bring it in,” Brown said. “I did the hard part. I caught it away from my body. Just bringing it in with my other hand. [Vrabel] doesn’t care about style points and I don’t either. So, maybe he thought I was trying to get the crowd going or something. But, it’s [Vrabel], you know. Take everything with a grain of salt, listen to him, and just make the catch.”

Those growing pains are part of building a connection. Brown says he’s far along in terms of learning the offense. The chemistry with Maye will continue to be tested this summer during camp.

Khari A. Thompson

Sports Reporter

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