Analyst has stunning thoughts on Patriots WR trade rumor originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

All eyes were on the NFL Draft, and particularly the first round for the New England Patriots.

Why? Because the franchise was going to get a good idea of where the Philadelphia Eagles stand in relation to A.J. Brown's future with the franchise.

And the Eagles selected receiver Makai Lemon with the 20th overall pick. That was a signal to the rest of the league -- Brown is likely going.

But it hasn't happened yet, with a post-June 1 trade the most likely timeframe, and for CBS Sports' Bryan DeArdo, all of this now feels certain to happen.

"This just feels like a formality," DeArdo wrote. "If there was any remaining doubt regarding the Eagles trading Brown, it was answered when the Eagles traded up to draft Makai Lemon with the 20th overall pick."

While nothing is set in stone, you could make the case that this is pretty close.

We have heard all offseason about the links between Brown and the Patriots, plus the Eagles' reported desire to move on from him if they got adequate compensation.

With the Eagles in no rush to eat a large amount of dead cap space by trading Brown before June 1, everyone is waiting for the day after, when the cap hit will be significantly reduced, and it will be more viable to trade Brown.

It's gone on long enough, and most have an idea of how this is going to end.

And that's with Brown being reunited with his former coach, Mike Vrabel, in New England.

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