FOXBORO --- The air just felt thicker. It was clear that the day was something different.

Maybe because it was humid beyond belief. Maybe it was because the Philadelphia Eagles were in town for a joint practice. Maybe it was because it was the first opportunity for A.J. Brown to go up against his former team since last June's trade.

Yep, that last one was definitely it. The New England Patriots' newest WR1 took the field against the Eagles on Wednesday for the first of two joint sessions. You could tell the thousands packed on the bleachers, end zone hill and stadium ramps were ready to explode at the first sign of something Brown-related.

They didn't have to wait long. The first snap, Brown and Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell went at it in 1-on-1s. Mitchell won, but a quick first step by the receiver and a lot of cheering from the stands set the tone for what was to come.

What did come was exactly what the Patriots wanted when they traded a future first and fifth round pick to acquire the 29-year-old Brown. The ability to win at the top of the route. Strong hands to bring down contested throws. An athleticism to get open, and quickly.

All of that was on display from Brown against his old teammates. He caught seven balls in team drills, the most by any Patriots pass catcher. He was easily the top wide receiver on the field for either side, and while it was a big day for the fans in attendance, it was just a normal day of work for Brown.

"We had a good day," Brown said after practice. "You know, there will always be some stuff that we need to improve on, and no day is perfect. You know, no matter how successful today may look, it’s always something to improve on. And tomorrow we have to come out with the same intensity and continue to get better."

The politically correct answer, yes. But the on-field damage had been done. It was clear that Brown was revved up and he throttled an Eagles secondary that struggled all morning. The Patriots have always been happy about making the move for Brown, even despite a slower start to his summer.

That changed in just one day. Brown had been Drake Maye's top target all training camp, but it was on a different level Wednesday. The Patriots have to be over the moon about what he showed against Philadelphia, and if that's what he can do against one of the league's best defenses, watch out NFL.

Brown isn't looking back: "I'm here now. I'm not going backward."

It's hard to claim that one side can "win" a practice. After all, there's so much to focus on and you can't really determine who's actually coming out on top.

But in the case of the Brown trade, solely based on the one practice we got to see, the Patriots are winners in that department.

Extra Points:

• He might not get hte fanfare that Brown receiver, but boy, Romeo Doubs is going to be really good in this offense. He caught two passes on Wednesday, including an impressive Randy Moss-like snag. He's starting to stack days over and over again, and if he can get 60 receptions and 750+ receiving yards as the protoypical "WR2" out of the slot in his first year, that's a slam dunk signing.

• I would not be surprised if the Patriots bring in a kicker this year on the practice squad. After Andy Borregales missed three kicks in the preseason opener, Vrabel was pretty harsh at the podium postgame. He changed his tune this week, essentially placing the blame on now-released backup long snapper Niko Lalos. But Borregales hit the uprights twice on Wednesday, though one of them did get a favorable bounce through. By no stretch of the imagination should Borregales' seat be hot. But the Patriots could use the added competition at some point.

• I really appreciate every time Kevin Byard steps behind the microphone for his media availability. Every time he does, I learn something new about his mindset when it comes to taking the ball away, how he wants to treat his body or his view on playing different coverages on the backend. He has a real McCourty feel to him.

• The Patriots signing Greg Van Roten and releasing Mitch Van Vooren this week has to be the first and only time that a team has made a 1-for-1 swap with players who have "Van" in their last name. Now all that's left to happen is to bring back Kyle Van Noy.

• We need to do away with players rolling up their practice jerseys, esepcially when yours truly is trying to do attendance at the start of each day. It's hard enough to squint through my too-small binoculars to see who just emerged onto the field, but when you can't even see if the uniform number is a 30, or a 33, or a 22, or a 28, or a ... you get the idea. First world problems, I know.

Make sure you bookmark New England Patriots on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns, and so much more!