Julio Jones’ impact on the Atlanta Falcons (Part 2)
This is the second and final part of a two-part series of articles discussing how wide receiver Julio Jones will impact the Atlanta Falcons after they drafted him sixth overall in the 2011 National Football League (NFL) Draft by trading four picks
with the Cleveland Browns.
So with the Falcons, Jones will play as wide receiver, even though he would make an excellent safety. So the franchise now has to think of how they will blend the skills of Jones with those of current Falcons receiver Roddy White, who was also a first round
draft pick in the 2005 NFL Draft. You can tell by looking at the team’s game tapes that when they took White out of the game, it was very difficult for quarterback Ryan to find their backup receivers.
The acquisition of Jones is going to give them a good number option and will be healthy for Ryan to have two good receivers. This will balance out the Falcons’ secondary and will open up a lot of options for their running back, Michael Turner.
White led the NFL in receptions with 115 for 1,389 yards and ten touchdowns and the Falcons traded four draft picks to get Jones but both of them have a long, long way to go before people can start comparing them to Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson,
as some have done already. Johnson’s 79.7 average career receiving yards per game rank first in NFL history while White has an average of 63.3 yards.
Johnson has been in the league for eight years and Jones has to stay healthy and play even better to prove that he is of the same calibre as Johnson. Those who spoke to Jones in New York during the draft know that he is determined to be that good, better
than any receiver in the league. When talking about hitting people, he was not shying away from his receiving duties but instead showed what else he could do. He was basically saying that “although I am a receiver, you should know that I can knock your block
off.”
Getting back to how Jones and White will team up to help Turner, there have been comparisons made to wide receivers Anthony Gonzalez and Austin Collie helping running back Joseph Addai of the Indianapolis Colts. But the Colts are well known for throwing
the ball much more than they run it. Is it the same with the Falcons?
Well they do throw the ball more than they run it but not as much as the Colts and other teams, such as the New England Patriots, do. Some people don’t realize that but it’s true and under Ryan, the team will most likely keep building around him and his
arm.
The story of how Jones does with the Falcons will be one of the greater stories in the 2011 NFL season. Stay tuned to find out what happens!
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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