Julio Jones officially announced his retirement yesterday. He didn't play in 2024, and hadn't been a significant player since Atlanta in 2020. But he was something else in his prime.
Those last three seasons (bouncing around with the Titans, Bucs and Eagles) all happened, and can't just be removed from the equation. But looking strictly at his Atlanta career (2011-2020), Jones was a monster, averaging 6.3 catches and 96 yards per game. Twice he led the league in receiving yards, while five times he averaged over 100 yards per game.
Even if we include those final three nomadic seasons, during which he managed only 807 total yards in 31 games, his career numbers are remarkable. Jones averaged 83 yards per game, which ranks him 3rd since the 1970 merger, among all wide receivers to play at least 100 games. (Table cropped at 60 yards.) Only Calvin Johnson and Antonio Brown have been better.
WIDE RECEIVERS YARDS PER GAME (MINIMUM 100 GAMES) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | G | Rec | Yds | Y/R | TD | Y/G |
Calvin Johnson | 135 | 731 | 11619 | 15.9 | 83 | 86.1 |
Antonio Brown | 146 | 928 | 12291 | 13.2 | 83 | 84.2 |
Julio Jones | 166 | 914 | 13703 | 15.0 | 66 | 82.5 |
Tyreek Hill | 141 | 798 | 11098 | 13.9 | 82 | 78.7 |
Torry Holt | 173 | 920 | 13382 | 14.5 | 74 | 77.4 |
Marvin Harrison | 190 | 1102 | 14580 | 13.2 | 128 | 76.7 |
Jerry Rice | 303 | 1549 | 22895 | 14.8 | 197 | 75.6 |
Mike Evans | 168 | 836 | 12684 | 15.2 | 105 | 75.5 |
Michael Irvin | 159 | 750 | 11904 | 15.9 | 65 | 74.9 |
Cooper Kupp | 104 | 634 | 7776 | 12.3 | 57 | 74.8 |
Andre Johnson | 193 | 1062 | 14185 | 13.4 | 70 | 73.5 |
Keenan Allen | 154 | 974 | 11274 | 11.6 | 66 | 73.2 |
Stefon Diggs | 144 | 857 | 10491 | 12.2 | 70 | 72.9 |
Terrell Owens | 219 | 1078 | 15934 | 14.8 | 153 | 72.8 |
DeAndre Hopkins | 178 | 984 | 12965 | 13.2 | 83 | 72.8 |
Sterling Sharpe | 112 | 595 | 8134 | 13.7 | 65 | 72.6 |
Davante Adams | 164 | 957 | 11844 | 12.4 | 103 | 72.2 |
Randy Moss | 218 | 982 | 15292 | 15.6 | 156 | 70.1 |
Jimmy Smith | 178 | 862 | 12287 | 14.3 | 67 | 69.0 |
Brandon Marshall | 179 | 970 | 12351 | 12.7 | 83 | 69.0 |
Demaryius Thomas | 143 | 724 | 9763 | 13.5 | 63 | 68.3 |
Isaac Bruce | 223 | 1024 | 15208 | 14.9 | 91 | 68.2 |
Anquan Boldin | 202 | 1076 | 13779 | 12.8 | 82 | 68.2 |
Reggie Wayne | 211 | 1070 | 14345 | 13.4 | 82 | 68.0 |
Steve Smith Sr. | 219 | 1031 | 14731 | 14.3 | 81 | 67.3 |
T.Y. Hilton | 146 | 638 | 9812 | 15.4 | 53 | 67.2 |
Odell Beckham Jr. | 119 | 575 | 7987 | 13.9 | 59 | 67.1 |
Marques Colston | 146 | 711 | 9759 | 13.7 | 72 | 66.8 |
Chad Johnson | 166 | 766 | 11059 | 14.4 | 67 | 66.6 |
A.J. Green | 158 | 727 | 10514 | 14.5 | 70 | 66.5 |
Larry Fitzgerald | 263 | 1432 | 17492 | 12.2 | 121 | 66.5 |
D.J. Moore | 114 | 558 | 7531 | 13.5 | 35 | 66.1 |
Chris Godwin | 111 | 579 | 7266 | 12.5 | 39 | 65.5 |
Steve Largent | 200 | 819 | 13089 | 16.0 | 100 | 65.4 |
Amari Cooper | 154 | 711 | 10033 | 14.1 | 64 | 65.1 |
Gary Clark | 167 | 699 | 10856 | 15.5 | 65 | 65.0 |
Terry Glenn | 137 | 593 | 8823 | 14.9 | 44 | 64.4 |
Roddy White | 171 | 808 | 10863 | 13.4 | 63 | 63.5 |
Keyshawn Johnson | 167 | 814 | 10571 | 13.0 | 64 | 63.3 |
Dez Bryant | 119 | 537 | 7506 | 14.0 | 75 | 63.1 |
Herman Moore | 146 | 670 | 9174 | 13.7 | 62 | 62.8 |
Rod Smith | 183 | 849 | 11389 | 13.4 | 68 | 62.2 |
Al Toon | 107 | 517 | 6605 | 12.8 | 31 | 61.7 |
DeSean Jackson | 183 | 641 | 11263 | 17.6 | 58 | 61.5 |
Rob Moore | 153 | 628 | 9368 | 14.9 | 49 | 61.2 |
Mark Duper | 146 | 511 | 8869 | 17.4 | 59 | 60.7 |
Henry Ellard | 228 | 814 | 13777 | 16.9 | 65 | 60.4 |
Brandin Cooks | 158 | 710 | 9532 | 13.4 | 60 | 60.3 |
James Lofton | 233 | 764 | 14004 | 18.3 | 75 | 60.1 |
In the table, assembled using the search tools at pro-football-reference.com, active players are in italics. There are quite a few of them, with it being a more pass-friendly and pass-happy league than ever before. But none of those guys is likely to be moving past Julio. Maybe Tyreek if he's got another 1,500 yard season or two in him.
--Andy Richardson