Julio Jones, American football player
Quintorris Lopez "Julio" Jones Jr. (; born February 8, 1989) is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. He played college football at Alabama, and was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He is regarded as one of the best receivers of the 2010s, and considered by many analysts to be the best Falcons receiver of all time.After a productive rookie season, Jones recorded 1,198 receiving yards and ten touchdowns in 2012 and was named to his first Pro Bowl. After an injury-plagued 2013 season where he only played five games, Jones led the Falcons in receiving yards in 2014, and made his second Pro Bowl, beginning to develop a deep chemistry with team quarterback Matt Ryan. Jones broke out the next season, leading the league in receiving yards and co-leading in receptions, both of his statistics ranking top five all-time in a season. After this season, he was named to his first All-Pro selection. In 2016, Jones again had a productive year, garnering another All-Pro selection, and helped to lead the Falcons to Super Bowl LI. Over the next three seasons, Jones amassed 4,515 yards, the most by any player during that span, including leading the league again in yards in 2018.
With the Falcons, Jones amassed 12,896 receiving yards, most by a receiver since entering the league, and more than any receiver in the 2010s, with 12,125 yards during that span. In doing so, Jones was invited to seven Pro Bowls, including six consecutive from 2014 to 2019, was a first-team All-Pro selection twice and was named second-team All-Pro three times.
Jones has been noted for having a rare combination of size (6 ft 3 in and 220 lbs), speed (40-yard dash in 4.39 seconds), catching ability, strength, leaping ability, and body control, which has drawn frequent comparisons to Calvin Johnson. On November 11, 2018, Jones became the fastest player in NFL history to reach 10,000 career receiving yards. On September 15, 2019, Jones became the all-time career receiving yards leader for the Falcons. On October 5, 2020, Jones became the all-time career receptions leader for the Falcons. His career average of 91.9 receiving yards per game is the highest in NFL history, and as of 2021 he is tied for third all-time in career games with 100-yards receiving with 59 career games. In 2021 after another injury-plagued 2020 season, Jones was traded to the Titans after reported disgruntlement with Atlanta's new front office.