A look back at Julio Jones’ combine performance
Before he was a seven-time pro bowler and two-time all-pro. Before the Atlanta Falcons traded their entire future away for the chance to draft him. Before he joined Gucci Mane and Trae Young as the unofficial members of the Quality Control music label. Before Jerry Rice called him the most impressive receiver in the NFL.
Julio Jones was a 21-year-old junior wide receiver from the University of Alabama at the 2011 NFL Scouting Combine.
Former Ole Miss wide receiver and current Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf left rave reviews of his combine performance last year, beating Jones’ 40-yard dash time of 4.42 with a mark of 4.33. There’s just one difference between the performances, however.
Jones ran his with a broken bone in his foot.
He also had a broad jump of 11-foot-3, which is only an inch off one the top 10 best jumps in combine history. He did 17 bench reps, the three-cone drill in 6.66 seconds and the 60-yard shuttle in 11.07 seconds.
Notes from his pre-draft profile included he was ideal NFL receiver size, he was explosive off the line, he ate up cushions in a hurry, he was a good blocker, he was tough and super competitive. His weaknesses included showing more consistency catching in traffic and dropping the routine pass and body catches at times.
His performance in Indianapolis is one of the reasons he made the jump from the 14th pick in some early mock drafts to No. 6. Atlanta traded up from No. 27 with the team’s first round pick that year, the first round pick in 2012, the second and fourth round picks in 2011 and 2012. Jones said he was “shocked” by the Falcons decision to draft him, according to nfl.com, but he said he would not disappoint.
The five picks from the trade turned out to be Trent Richardson, Brandon Weeden, Owen Marecic, Greg Little and Phil Taylor for the Cleveland Browns.
Jones became the fastest player in NFL history to reach 12,000 yards this past season.
