Julio Jones hasn't played for the Atlanta Falcons since 2020, but he remains the best wide receiver in franchise history. In fact, he's one of the best wideouts in NFL history, and it seems like only a matter of time before he's inducted into the Football Hall of Fame, where he'll get a much-earned gold jacket.
The fact of the matter is that the seven-time Pro Bowler of the most dangerous wide receivers of the last generation. We have seen some dangerous WRs across the last two decades, but Julio Jones stands alone, especially compared to another iconic former NFC South receiver in Mike Evans.
Evans tied Jerry Rice's NFL record for most consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, but the man who was on the Bucs had a prime that was nothing like Julio Jones'. And that was why Julio got a starting WR spot on Pro Football Focus' Nathan Jahnke's All-PFF team detailing the best players since 2006.
Julio Jones once again knocked Mike Evans and Bucs fans down a peg
While Evans was nowhere to be found, Jahnke named Julio as one of his three first-team wide receivers on the All-PFF team alongside Antonio Brown and DeAndre Hopkins. And the former didn't even get an honorable mention from Jahnke, let alone a mention in the receiver section of this article.
"Julio Jones stands out from the group, as his 2.53 yards per route run were the most by the 57 receivers with at least 4,000 routes, and he accomplished this while tallying the second-most receiving yards," Jahnke wrote.
Jahnke noted that Jones' 2.53 yards per route run were the most by the 57 receivers who ran over 4,000 routes, and he has the second-most receiving yards across that span. And this is from a player who was held back by injuries at points in his career, we can only imagine where a healthy Julio would fall. I guess that bold draft-day trade was worth it.
That's a brutal blow for Bucs fans, but that's not even the tip of the iceberg because the five-time All-Pro was by far at his most productive against the Buccaneers. In 16 career games against his divison rivals, Jones caught 114 passes for 1,841 yards and scored 11 touchdowns against the Bucs.
Even though he briefly teamed up with Evans in Tampa Bay, Buccaneers fans are probably still given nightmares about this guy. The Alabama product caught 12 passes for 253 yards and two scores against them in 2017, which is far better than any showing No. 13 has enjoyed against the Dirty Birds.
Mike Evans is still a great wide receiver and may also be a future Hall of Famer, but he was never a top-three NFL WR. Meanwhile, prime Julio Jones was right up there with Calvin Johnson and Antonio Brown as one of the best of the best for his whole career, so this settles a debate that doesn't exist.
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