Written by: Tyler Deakin
Julio Jones’ days with the Atlanta Falcons organization appear numbered after his recent comments on the Skip & Shannon: Undisputed talk show garnered national headlines. Host of the show Shannon Sharpe called Julio on air & asked him, “do you want to go to the Cowboys Julio, or do you want to stay in Atlanta?” to which Julio replied, “I’m outta there, man… I want to win.” Listen, it’s no secret that the Falcons have been trying to trade Julio since before the draft began; the bottom line is that they need to free up money to sign their rookie draft class. Did you know though that it was Julio who requested the trade from the team several months ago & set this process into motion? A mutual split seems beneficial for both the team & player after the public comments have garnered national media attention. I’m the resident Falcons fan here on the Macro Sports website, so please allow me to reflect on Julio Jones’ time with the team.
NFL leader in career receiving YPG
Above all else, this is the best statistic that really defines the career of Julio Jones to me. He leads the NFL in career receiving yards per game with a career mark of 95.5 average yards, which bests Calvin Johnson’s 2nd place mark (86.1 ypg) by about 10 yards! This is also reflected in Matt Ryan’s career numbers with & without Julio in the lineup. Matt Ryan’s career numbers with Julio in the lineup are as follows: 97.8 passer rating, 292.6 passing yards per game, & 7.8 yards per attempt. Without Julio, those figures drop to an 88.6 passer rating, 260.1 passing yards per game, & 7.0 yards per attempt in 25 career games. That’s a dramatic difference in statistics that really makes me appreciate the impact Julio Jones had on our offenses over the years.
Memorable performances
Somewhere in an alternate universe, the Atlanta Falcons won Super Bowl LI on the strength of Julio Jones’ spectacular toe-tapping catch on the sideline with 4:40 left in the 4th quarter. This catch set the team up to kick a game winning field goal, which was a golden opportunity that was wasted. That was the biggest performance in Julio’s illustrious career, but he had plenty of others to choose from. Who can forget his 9 catch, 180-yard, 2 TD game against the Packers in the 2016 NFC Championship Game? Or how about his 12 catch, 300-yard, 1 TD game against the Panthers? Finally, his go-ahead TD on 4th down against the Eagles won the game for the Falcons in an otherwise forgettable 2019 season. The bottom line is that Julio always showed up in the biggest games of the year, which is an underrated aspect to his game.
Franchise leader in receiving categories
Atlanta Falcons Owner Arthur Blank acknowledged during a 2019 contract dispute that he expected Julio Jones to be a “Falcon for life.” Obviously that’s unlikely to happen now after both the team & player seem destined for a mutual parting of ways via trade; however, this quote does a great job of summarizing Julio’s impact on the Falcons. He will leave the Falcons as the franchise leader in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving yards per game. He’s also 2nd in TDs (60) and 3rd in games played (135) amongst franchise pass catchers. Simply put, he’s undoubtedly one of the greatest Atlanta Falcons players to ever put on the team’s uniform.
Mentorship & development
Franchise legend Roddy White taught Julio Jones everything he knew about how to play wide receiver for the Atlanta Falcons during their time as teammates from 2011-2015. Julio said the following about Roddy in a 2019 interview with the Atlanta Falcons website, “he paved the way for a lot of guys, myself included being a wide receiver here.. He taught me the way [to] play the game, so I'm going to pass it down to these guys now.” The legacies of Roddy & Julio will now be passed down to star wide receiver Calvin Ridley, whom Julio has mentored for the past 3 years. Ridley certainly looks ready for the challenge of taking the reins from Julio, as he had a breakout season for the team last year with 90 receptions for 1,374 yards & 9 TDs in 15 games played. It certainly helped that Julio acted as an on-field coach for Ridley for 6 games while he recovered from injury, teaching him through drills & talking to him during the games.
Closing remarks
I frequently wear my red Julio Jones jersey during the season, and after writing this I’ve realized how much I’ll miss watching him play football on Sunday afternoons. He’s been a dynamic talent, great player, & fantastic leader over the years for our team. I’m convinced that he’s a Hall of Fame caliber player who will enjoy a career renaissance with a better team. Times like these remind me that the NFL is a business, so players come & go as they see fit. Enjoy & appreciate the star players on your favorite NFL team, because they might not be around forever.
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