If you’ve ever noticed, Tom Brady would take his wide receivers to the spot on the ground with blinding sunlight in their eyes as he made them warm up with some catches. Emmanuel Sanders would win over his opponents in a game of Madden before taking on them in the field. Patrick Mahomes would take a quiet time with a two-hour long prayer before every game. Pre-game rituals are very much a part of NFL as being physically skilled. But for some, these habits and rituals are found in other players that they idolized for years. One of them is AJ Brown.

One of the most notable pre-game habit that the wide receiver follows is watching Julio Jones in action. Not only does his idol give him ideas to take down the opponents but also gives others a warning– If Julio is on, AJ Brown is all-set to show you the exit door. And although the Atlanta Falcons star has retired now, Brown is set in his ways. And his latest update shows just that!

Oh, just your average 4:43 a.m. offseason grind, but not, because sleep is optional when greatness is on the menu. Here’s the twist—when he posted that now-viral gym shot, what was playing on the screen behind him? The 2019 Eagles vs. Falcons game and Jones in full action.

Yup, the one where Julio turned Philly’s defense into a practice dummy. 5 catches, 106 yards, and that 54-yard dagger in the fourth quarter that sealed a 24-20 win for Atlanta. That’s the film AJ was locked in on while pumping iron. Coincidence? Or calculated pain for future gain? You decide. But fans are already calling it a warning shot. The man’s cooking something.

For AJ, Julio wasn’t just a player he saw smoke defenses on screen. For the SB LIX winner—JJ was the manual. And sure enough, not even two weeks later, we catch AJ doing what AJ does best: hitting the gym while soaking in a Julio Jones masterclass.

And let’s not forget—this isn’t some new phase. Back in February, on the Kickin’ It with Dee podcast, AJ spilled the beans on his pregame ritual. “Pitch black, watching Julio… If he can do it, I can do it,” he said. The results speak for themselves: 1,000+ yards, 7+ touchdowns in every season since he landed in Philly. And oh yeah—12 catches, 163 yards in the playoffs during that Super Bowl LIX run. Whatever works, right?

When Julio officially retired on April 5, AJ took it personally. “The best WR to play the game in my book. Taught me how to play the position before we even met. Not every day you get to play with the person that inspired you to play the game. Grateful! You deserve it family. THE HOF AWAITS!” he wrote. That’s football reverence.

AJ’s back in the lab, the Julio tape’s rolling, and the Birds are chirping. Is this the beginning of another monster season? If we go by his Insta username, 1k_alwaysopen, then Philly’s in for another one. But one thing’s certain: AJ Brown is plotting. And if the rest of the league isn’t paying attention? That’s their problem.

But Cam Ward doesn’t rate AJ Brown that high

Yes, you read that right. Cam Ward—the likely No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft—thinks that. The Miami product, while playing Fortnite, casually declared that Calvin Ridley is the best wide receiver in the league. And when someone brought up A.J. Brown? He doubled down: “A.J. Brown is a dog, but he is not Calvin Ridley.” Bold words for a rookie who hasn’t even touched an NFL playbook yet.

Now look, there’s confidence—and then there’s rewriting the wide receiver hierarchy before draft night. A.J. Brown is fresh off a Super Bowl win and another 1,000+ yard season. Ridley? Talented, yes. But let’s not forget the injuries, the suspension, and a 2024 campaign that didn’t exactly shake the earth—1,017 yards and 4 touchdowns in 15 games. Even if you match the career stats, Ridley’s stuck at 5,375 yds, when Brown’s got at least 1000 yds more than him, and surely more fitness levels left (if the latest updates are anything to go by).

And that’s not shade—it’s the scoreboard talking. Brown outpaced Ridley in nearly every metric last season: 1,242 yards, 12 touchdowns. An absolute force, even while dealing with a nagging hamstring. He’s done it consistently too—three straight years of elite production since arriving in Philly.

But here’s the thing—Ward wasn’t trying to win a debate. He was repping his (soon-to-be) squad. That’s what this is– A rookie already pledging loyalty to his veteran wideout. You can bet Titans fans loved every second of it. They’ve wanted Ward under center since December. Now he’s campaigning before he’s even drafted.

Still, this unexpected ‘Ridley > Brown’ claim lit up timelines. So, while Ridley and Ward might become a fun combo in Tennessee, just don’t expect A.J. Brown to forget this slight anytime soon.