Atlanta Falcons fans know exactly how dangerous Julio Jones was in his prime, but the rest of NFL consistently forgets. Julio was one of the most productive receivers of the generation, yet Antonio Brown, Calvin Johnson, and Odell Beckham Jr. were all talked about more often than Jones ever was.
It was a marvel to watch him week in and week out, as the seven-time Pro Bowler helped define Falcons' football alongside Matt Ryan in the 2010's. And that's why it should have came as no surprise when former star cornerback-turned NFL analyst Richard Sherman praised him as such.
During an appearance on the Closed on Sundays podcast with Patrick Surtain II and Terrion Arnold, Sherman was asked about the toughest receivers to guard, and he only named Megatron before Julio—and he managed to let the youngsters know that dealing with Jones always made for a long day.
Richard Sherman dropping Julio Jones' REAL name during his TOUGHEST receivers list had Pat & TA stumped 😂 pic.twitter.com/ZLCLtKrFQI
— Closed on Sundays with Pat and Terrion (@closedsundaypod) December 17, 2025
And the most hilarious part of the clip came when Sherman revealed to them that Quintorris was his true first name, since neither Surtain or Arnold was aware that Julio was a nickname.
Richard Sherman says Julio Jones was one of the receivers whodz gave him trouble
For a five-time All Pro to name Julio as one of his toughest matchups, that's some high praise. But given the fact he's logged over 13,000 career receiving yards and is undoubtedly the best wideout in Atlanta franchise history means that Sherman is just saying what Falcons fans have known for years.
"Dealing with Julio was a grind. You had to bring your lunch box with you and you were gonna have a full day."Richard Sherman
The Super Bowl-winning corner has faced his fair share of difficult matchups, especially given he played for 11 mostly elite seasons, so his words certainly hold weight. He also named Andre Johnson, AJ Green, DeAndre Hopkins, and surprisingly Stevie Johnson in addition, which is no joke.
Sherman also doubled down in his praise, saying facing Green was similar to Julio. And given both of them were practically unguardable in their primes and only slowed down due to injury problems, that's some elite company to be in.
The Alabama product logged seven 1,000-yard receiving seasons in red and black, and led the league in receiving twice in his career. And the craziest part is his best statistical season came back in 2015, which was done amid Roddy White's final NFL season, but he passed the baton years earlier.
Jones' career with the Falcons was nothing short of legendary, so it feels like a foregone conclusion he'll receive a gold jacket when he's eligible during the Hall of Fame class of 2029. If only he was able to cap it all off with that Super Bowl ring back in 2016.