The Atlanta Falcons traded Jones along with a 2023 sixth-round pick to the Titans for a 2022 second-round selection and a fourth-rounder in 2023, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Media. Tennessee will even take about the wide receiver’s salary of $15.3 million in 2021 while Atlanta will have $7.75 million in dead money.
Though Jones is 32 and hauled in only 51 receptions for 771 yards and three touchdowns last season, he is one of the greatest wide receivers in the NFL. He suffered a drop-off in production in 2020 because he missed time with injuries, not since he’s slowing down. The year before, he caught 99 receptions for 1,394 yards and six trips to the end zone. Furthermore, he registered six successive 1,000-yard seasons from 2014 to 2019. The Alabama product, along with A.J. Brown, could form one of the best wide receiver duos in the league.
Tennessee had a top 5 crime, and the accession of Jones will make it an even more dominating unit. Ryan Tannehill has been among the most effective quarterbacks in the NFL because joining the Titans and the running back Derrick Henry will continue paving the way on the ground. Without Jones, Tennessee was a playoff team. Now, they are a formidable foe which will give the Jaguars a match two times per year.
The Jacksonville Jaguars will want to find a way to slow down Julio Jones.
The Jaguars needed to update their secondary this offseason after completing 27th in passing touchdowns allowed in 2020. They signed former Seattle Seahawks cornerback Shaquill Griffin and former Los Angeles Chargers security Rayshawn Jenkins. Furthermore, they drafted cornerback Tyson Campbell and safety Andre Cisco. Jacksonville’s back seven will be in better shape than it was last year although the Titans’ offense will introduce a difficult matchup.
If the Jags try to double Jones or Brown, Henry could have a field day against their own defense. Last season, he racked up 51 takes for 299 yards and 2 touchdowns. If Jacksonville heaps the box, the secondary will be vulnerable to Jones and Brown. The last time Jones played the Jaguars was in Week 16 of this 2019 season. In that match, the seven-time Pro Bowl nod caught ten receptions for 166 yards and also the Jags lost 24-12.
Last season, the Titans were done in the playoffs but that fell on their defense, not the offense. The Jaguars have lots of time to figure out how to slow down Julio Jones but it won’t be a simple job.
