Robinson: Jones a Good Fit in Mind, Body
Jon Robinson had no trouble when asked to name what he liked about Julio Jones. He immediately rattled off more than a handful.
There was one thing that the Tennessee Titans general manager liked above all others, though. And it is that one that makes him believe Sunday’s trade for the seven-time Pro Bowl wide receiver, one of the NFL’s most productive players of the last decade, will work out for him and his team.
“In my discussion with Julio [about] what’s his number-one goal, it wasn’t about targets. It wasn’t about that,” Robinson said Sunday. “His goal is to win. And that’s the mindset we’re looking for. … Contribute to winning a football game. I think that’s the mindset that he has, and that’s the mindset that we have as a football team.”
Robinson traded a second-round draft pick in 2022 and a fourth-round selection in 2023 to get Jones (plus a sixth-round pick in 2023), the sixth overall selection in 2011 from the Atlanta Falcons.
Negotiations, he said, began weeks ago and only became serious in recent days. The completion of the deal creates the possibility that Jones could take part in some of the Titans’ final organized team activity (OTA) of this offseason, which runs Monday-Thursday, and the mandatory minicamp June 15-17.
The 32-year-old who missed seven games last season still must pass a physical, and franchise officials will have to make some moves to fit him under the salary cap, but the general manager saw plenty of reasons to get the deal done as soon as possible.
“When word got out that he might be available, I started looking at it,” Robinson said. “We looked at him. [Our] coaches looked at him [and] how he might fit in offensively. He’s big. He’s fast. He’s tough. He’s great with the ball in his hands. Willing blocker.
“I think all the things we ask of our receivers – it’s get open, catch, block – he certainly checks those boxes and has done it a high level for a lot of years in the National Football League.”
In 10 seasons with the Falcons, Jones caught 848 passes for 12,896 yards and 60 touchdowns. He is the NFL’s all-time leader with an average of 95.5 receiving yards per game and is seventh in average yards per reception at 15.2. He also is among the top 20 in all-time receiving yards and the top 30 in all-time receptions.
Jones also was a part of four playoff teams in Atlanta as well as two that finished with just four victories, including the 2020 version. In 2016, Atlanta achieved a bit of NFL infamy when it blew a 25-point second-half lead and lost 34-28 to New England in Super Bowl LI. Since then, that franchise has one postseason appearance and one playoff victory.
The Titans have finished with a winning record in each of the last five seasons, have been to the playoffs in three of the last four years and reached the AFC Championship game in 2019.
They also have Derrick Henry, a two-time rushing champion and 2,000-yard rusher who is 6-foot-3, 247 pounds, and A.J. Brown, a wide receiver who is 6-foot, 223 pounds and has topped 1,000 yards receiving in each of his first two NFL seasons. At 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, Jones ought to fit right in with them to create one of the beefiest set of offensive skill players in the league.
“I think that the bigger and the faster and the stronger that a player can be at their respective positions, the advantage goes – usually – the bigger, faster and [more] skilled players,” Robinson said. “Certainly, all three of those guys have proven that they can be successful at their respective positions with their height and their weight and their speed.
“(We’re) excited to get Julio in here, and I know he’s excited to get to know his teammates, to get the timing down and get ready to work.”
