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Julio Jones

Could Falcons trade star wideout?

The NFL Draft is this week, and the wild reports about what might happen or not happen are coming fast and furious. One out this morning that's kind of interesting is the possibility of the Falcons trading Julio Jones. There's some degree of logic to it.

The speculation comes from Peter King's Monday morning football column. Neither here nor there but I'm not a huge fan of King. I used to be, and one has to respect someone who's climbed to the top of their chosen profession, but I think he got a little full of himself over the years, and too comfortable talking about what his favorite Starbucks drink or TV show is.

Anyway, in talking about possible surprises he mentions Atlanta trading Jones. One reason this makes sense to me is that if the Falcons stay and make a pick at 1.04, tight end Kyle Pitts is a popular prediction, and there's been some talk of wide receiver JaMarr Chase as well. Either pick would give the Falcons one of the best pass catchers in the draft, which makes a lot more sense on a team that only has Calvin Ridley out there as a top receiving talent, not as much on one that has Jones. If the Falcons were to select Chase or to a lesser extent Pitts, a Julio Jones trade might not be far behind.

Jones just turned 32 and missed 7 games last season due to injury. Many teams will certainly look at that and shy away, but there are plenty of coaches who will get starry-eyed at the possibility of acquiring one of the game's truly dominant pass catchers of the pass decade. He's been pretty awesome.

Since entering the league in 2011, Jones has seven 1,000-yard seasons, most notably going over 1,400 receiving yards in five straight years (2014-2018). That includes two of the top 15 fantasy seasons by a wide receiver over the past decade, and three of the top 40.

TOP WIDE RECEIVER SEASONS, 2011-2020
YearPlayerTgtRecYdsAvgTDPPRRk
2015Antonio Brown193136183413.511392.21
2014Antonio Brown181129169813.214391.11
2015Julio Jones203136187113.89377.12
2019Michael Thomas185149172511.69374.61
2011Calvin Johnson15896168117.516361.21
2020Davante Adams149115137412.018360.41
2012Calvin Johnson204122196416.15348.41
2015Brandon Marshall173109150213.814343.23
2014Demaryius Thomas184111161914.611340.92
2018DeAndre Hopkins163115157213.711337.51
2011Wes Welker173122156912.99335.92
2012Brandon Marshall192118150812.811334.62
2018Tyreek Hill13787147917.014334.02
2015DeAndre Hopkins192111152113.711331.14
2018Julio Jones170113167714.88329.93
2018Davante Adams169111138612.513329.64
2020Tyreek Hill13587127614.717328.92
2020Stefon Diggs166127153512.18328.63
2014Jordy Nelson15198151915.513327.93
2018Antonio Brown168104129712.515323.75
2018Michael Thomas147125140511.29319.56
2015Odell Beckham15896145015.113319.35
2013Demaryius Thomas14292143015.514319.01
2014Dez Bryant13688132015.016316.04
2013Antonio Brown167110149913.69315.12
2013Josh Gordon15987164618.99314.43
2017DeAndre Hopkins17496137814.413311.81
2017Antonio Brown163101153315.29310.32
2018Adam Thielen153113137312.29309.37
2016Antonio Brown154106128412.112307.31
2016Jordy Nelson15297125713.014306.72
2013A.J. Green17898142614.611306.64
2013Brandon Marshall164100129513.012305.55
2013Calvin Johnson15684149217.812305.26
2016Mike Evans17396132113.812304.13
2015Allen Robinson15180140017.514304.06
2012Dez Bryant13892138215.012303.73
2012A.J. Green16497135013.911301.84
2014Emmanuel Sanders141101140413.99301.85
2014Julio Jones163104159315.36299.46

I'm not sure what the Falcons will do at 1.04; they've been a little wishy-washy, I think, this offseason. They restructured Matt Ryan's contract, making it a near-lock he'll be on the roster at least the next two seasons, which implies they think they're contenders. That would seem to work against trading Jones. But there have been whispers they could draft a quarterback at 1.04, which suggests more of a rebuild. In that chase, trading away Jones makes sense.

Just one of the more of the intriguing elements on this year's draft, which is fortunately just a few days away.

--Andy Richardson

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