Jones, Brown Not Far Apart in Ranking of NFL's Best Players
Julio Jones did not simply make the Tennessee Titans’ passing game better.
He became the best wide receiver on the roster – albeit, not by much – when the Titans acquired him in a trade with the Atlanta Falcons.
That is the opinion of Pro Football Focus, which this week has begun its reveal of the top 50 players in the NFL right now. And the analytics-based website concedes that it could be wrong.
Thus far, positions 31-50 have been revealed, and Jones checked in at No. 35, three spots ahead of A.J. Brown, Tennessee’s leading receiver each of the past two seasons. Those rankings lend credence to Jones’ recent assessment that he and Brown form a 1-1 punch for an offense that threw the ball fewer times than all but two teams last season.
The ranking is based on a review of every play and every player and is “a projection of what we think will happen and not necessarily a reaction to a spectacular or underwhelming 2020 season.” No one position is given more weight than another.
Here is part of what PFF said about each:
On Jones: “The new Tennessee Titan is still the best blend of size, speed, athleticism and technique in the league, and the only question is whether he still has the durability to be ranked at the very top of the list.”
On Brown: “Brown has already been a dominant force in his first two seasons in the NFL, but we may be about to witness him kicking it to another level now that Julio Jones is going to line up on the other side of the formation for the Titans. … He has shown he is a complete No. 1 and has done so while opposing defenses have known he was the biggest receiving threat on his team.”
Thus far, Jones and Brown are the only Titans players included. Chances are, though, that a certain two-time NFL rushing champion will be somewhere among the top 30.
