Case For / Case Against: Julio Jones the best WR in the NFL?
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00:00Julio Jones declared himself the best receiver in the NFL,
00:04but is he?
00:05Let's play a little case for and case against
00:08with the fantasy exec Cory Parson and our Ben Pickman,
00:11with Cory making the case for.
00:13Go ahead.
00:14Well, let's just start with the physical attributes.
00:16You look at the size, the speed, the power.
00:18He's the toughest cover in the NFL, hands down.
00:21Now let's look at what he's done the past six seasons.
00:24At least 1,300 yards receiving.
00:27Now let's go on to how Julio Jones plays the game.
00:30Julio Jones not only has games, but he has humongous games.
00:34Look at this season alone.
00:35Two games of 137 yards receiving,
00:37one game of 157 yards receiving.
00:39He does these kind of big games consistently.
00:42And it's not like Julio Jones is being force-fed the ball
00:45like guys like DeAndre Hopkins.
00:47Julio Jones has played with all pro caliber players.
00:49Right now with Calvin Ritley,
00:51Devontae Freeman was a big piece of that offense.
00:53He even played with Roddy White.
00:55So let's talk about the overall body of work.
00:58The only active receiver with more yards than Julio Jones
01:02is Larry Fitzgerald.
01:04And Larry Fitzgerald's been playing since the 80s.
01:06Antonio Brown, when he gets into the league,
01:08he's a close second.
01:09But Julio Jones is the best active receiver in the NFL
01:12with over 12,000 yards career receiving yards.
01:15A pretty strong case there, Ben.
01:17What's the case against?
01:19I mean, I think Corey didn't even mention
01:20maybe Jones' best target or best opponent.
01:23That would be Michael Thomas.
01:25Let's not forget about him,
01:26the 2019 Offensive Player of the Year.
01:27He had more than 1,700 yards,
01:30more than 300 more than Julio Jones last year.
01:32And he had a whopping 16 more first down receptions
01:36than any other receiver in the league.
01:38Yards per route, that's a stat
01:40that Julio has traditionally dominated.
01:41Thomas actually out-seeded Julio last year
01:45in that category, furthering his case.
01:48Then let's throw in some other receivers.
01:49DeAndre Hopkins, adding him to the mix.
01:51He leads the NFL in receiving yards right now.
01:54He has 35% of his team's air yards
01:56compared to just 20% of Julio's.
01:59We know the Falcons,
02:01and Corey listed all these talented players.
02:02The Falcons right now have a very talented offense.
02:05We've seen it with Calvin Ridley.
02:07Russell Gage is a fantasy option for a lot of people.
02:09So we have some depth on the Falcons right now.
02:11DeAndre Hopkins, a clear number one on that team.
02:14Devontae Adams, another star receiver.
02:16PFF grades him above Julio Jones.
02:18Julio is still a great receiver,
02:20and Corey makes a very convincing historical case
02:23why Julio might be the best of the last, say, 10 years.
02:25But right now, right now, he's not unequivocally the best,
02:28and there are a few more guys
02:29I think you'd take above the Falcons star.
02:31Yeah, I'm not mad at him for saying it,
02:33but you could make the case for Hopkins.
02:35You could make the case for Thomas.
02:37Tyreek Hill would scare me more than any other receiver.
02:40In an individual game, I think you have Adams,
02:43you have Godwin, you have Evans,
02:44you have Brown on the way back.
02:46I'm probably forgetting somebody.
02:48So ultimately, I have to rule against Julio Jones
02:52as the best receiver in the NFL,
02:54simply because he does not have a definitive case.