Antonio Brown gives New England Patriots best offense since 2007

Antonio Brown is reportedly signing with the New England Patriots less than eight hours after his release from Oakland, giving them an elite offense.

When the Saturday before Week 1 of the 2019 NFL season began, Antonio Brown was a member of the Oakland Raiders. And by the end of the day, he’s now signing a one-year contract to play with Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.

Following the demand for his release and the Raiders granting his wish, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the All-Pro caliber wide receiver will sign a one-year, $15 million with $9 million guaranteed at signing.

The addition of Brown now gives the Patriots a lethal group of wide receivers, which is quite crazy considering where it seemed they might be this year. After looking like it might be no Rob Gronkowski and, essentially just Julian Edelman among wide receiver, Brady will now have Brown, Edelman and Josh Gordon to throw to, in addition to first-round rookie N’Keal Harry when he gets back off of IR.

On top of that, the Pats rushing attack should be quite phenomenal. Not only is the offensive line expected to be among the NFL’s best again, but Sony Michel, James White and rookie Damien Harris also comprise a three-headed monster out of the backfield.

More from NFL Spin Zone

• Dallas Cowboys made the trade everyone else should have made
• Pittsburgh Steelers rookie sleeper everyone should be talking about
• Anthony Richardson putting jaw-dropping talent on display immediately
• Denver Broncos’ stud wide receiver might be out for a while
• Washington Commanders: Three takeaways from win over Ravens

This might be blasphemous but the addition of Brown might give the Patriots their best offensive attack since the 2007 season. For those that need a refresher, that would be the year that New England went 16-0 in the regular season — even if they lost to the Giants in the Super Bowl.

Bill Belichick’s 2007 offense was most certainly headlined by Randy Moss at wide receiver, who enjoyed an unbelievable year. He finished the campaign with just shy of 1,500 yards receiving and 23 touchdowns, one of the best single seasons by a pass-catcher ever. And while Brown, Gordon and Edelman may not be at Moss’ level, the sum of the parts may be more impressive.

Brown and a healthy-with-his-head-on-right Gordon are two top-15 wide receivers in the league while Edelman is an elite player in the slot. Furthermore, the Patriots current backfield is better than what was there in 2007, a group that then consisted of Laurence Maroney, Sammy Morris and Kevin Faulk.

The linchpin in New England being at that level in 2019 after the addition of Antonio Brown, though, is Brady himself. While he still put up over 4,000 yards last season, he showed some signs of slowing down. And, as many have been waiting for, there’s a chance the 42-year old shows more signs of decline this year.

If those signs of decline are minimal or don’t even happen at all, Brown takes this offense to unbelievable heights. Even with Gronk gone, there are few defenses in the NFL capable of matching up with the weapons that the Pats now have.

And for those worried about Brown’s personality after what happened in Oakland, the Patriot Way has a way of working magic. Subsequently, that’s likely not even much of a concern in this situation. Instead, it’s a player now hungry to prove himself joining a Super Bowl contender and perhaps making them unstoppable on offense.