That's less than one TD for every 28 targets, when league average last year was one every 23, and that includes RBs who rarely catch touchdowns relative to WRs and TEs. After scoring 18 TDs on 224 targets his first two seasons, Jones has 25 over his last five years and 703 targets. Bottom line, with a healthy and competent quarterback and an offense built around him, Jones has as high a floor as any receiver in the league.īy most measures Jones is an inner-circle-Hall-of-Fame-level receiver - more than 9.0 YPT every year of his career, four straight 1,400-yard seasons and big performances in the playoffs and Super Bowl. Last year's first-round pick, Calvin Ridley, seems to be a good complement for Jones, and even with Ridley seeing 92 targets, and Mohamed Sanu 94, Jones still paced the NFL in opportunities. Jones turned 30 in February, but he's played all 32 games the last two years and has missed only two games over his last four. Although he had only two catches of 40-plus yards, the fewest in his career, he had 24 catches of 20-plus yards (3rd) and maintained his stellar per-play efficiency. At 6-3, 220, and having run a blistering 4.39 40 at the 2011 combine, Jones has long been one of the position's athletic freaks, and his speed and explosiveness seem largely intact. But Jones scored eight times over the season's final nine games, debunking the idea that he's not a capable red-zone presence. Oddly, Jones' touchdown drought - only 25 TDs on his last 703 targets heading into 2018 - continued for seven games last year with another 81 targets and not a single TD. He had 10 100-yard games and averaged 14.8 YPC (6th) and 9.9 YPT (5th). He led the league with 170 targets and 1,677 yards, the 12th most in NFL history. Third-year man Calvin Ridley is the only other mouth to feed, and there's plenty to go around in the Falcons' pass-happy offense.Įven in his age-29 season, Jones was arguably still the best receiver in the NFL. With Mohamed Sanu no longer in the fold and Austin Hooper leaving in free agency, there's no reason to think Jones' target share should diminish much in 2020. Once an injury risk, Jones has missed only four games since 2013. He's probably not as fast as he once was, but he's still an excellent route runner with reliable hands, and it doesn't hurt that he's played with the same competent quarterback for his entire career. At 6-3, 220, and running a 4.39 40 at the 2011 combine, Jones is one of the NFL's all-time size/speed freaks. For whatever reason, the Falcons don't look to Jones near the goal line that often, and at 31, he's less likely to provide distance scoring. In his defense, he received only three inside-the-10 targets and zero inside-the-5 chances over that span - other than in the 49ers game where he had two from inside the 5, converting both. He had a two-TD game Week 15 against the Niners but otherwise did not score from Weeks 4-17. Jones' odd issue with catching touchdowns resurfaced, after he scored seven during the second half of 2018 and four more in the first three games of last year. Last year he caught 99 passes, 21 of which went for 20-plus yards (T-3rd) en route to 1,394 receiving yards (2nd) in 15 games, but his usually elite per-play averages took a dip - 8.9 YPT (11th among the league's 30 100-target WR), 14.1 YPC (10th) and only three catches of 40-plus. One of the greatest receivers in NFL history, Jones might be past his prime, but not by much. Most of all, Jones needs to stay healthy this season. A better offense than what he had in Atlanta could give Jones more red-zone opportunities too. Jones should see a large portion of those from quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who has the arm to find Jones downfield. WR Corey Davis (92 targets) and TE Jonnu Smith (65) exited in free agency, leaving behind 157 targets. Brown, with whom Jones will form one of the league’s best WR tandems. While Jones is going from a pass-heavy team in Atlanta to a run-heavy team in Tennessee, the Titans do not have any established pass-catchers other than A.J. This year, he’ll take those skills to Tennessee after he was traded in June. In short, when he was on the field there was no real slippage in his skills. Jones once again had an end-zone allergy - only three TDs - but that's par for the course, not a sign of decline. He also made plenty of big plays - 16 catches of 20-plus yards in only nine games. Jones averaged 15.1 YPC and a huge 11.3 yards per target (first among non-PED-using receivers with 60 or more targets). The news from 2020 wasn't all bad, though. For a 32-year-old, 220-pound receiver with 1,320 career targets, health is the biggest question. Arguably a top-5 all-time NFL wideout, Jones (hamstring) missed more than two games last year for the first time since 2013.
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