The Atlanta Falcons made one of the boldest moves of the NFL Draft, trading several high picks to move up and select receiver Julio Jones 6th overall. Though we think Jones is a skilled player, we said the team gave up too much to get him. Frankly, it’s hard to justify giving up two firsts, a second, and two fourth round picks for any receiver in the NFL, much less a rookie. Still, the hefty price they paid to draft him isn’t going to stop Atlanta’s Pro Bowl receiver Roddy White from praising the youngster.
“He’s real coachable and he’s learning everyday,” White said of Jones during an interview with NFL Network. “[Our offense is] going to be special. It’s going to remind you of the Greatest Show on Turf. We’ve got a lot of explosive players and I see a lot more explosive plays coming out of our offense.”
White mentioned that having Julio Jones opposite him will create an opportunity for more one-on-one coverages for him. Then when the point was raised that the team maybe should have opted for defensive help instead of an offensive weapon, White said “We’re going to outscore everyone.” Additionally, as Pro Football Talk pointed out, White confidently stated that “We’re going to be Green Bay south.”
White’s not the team’s GM so of course he’s going to try and find the positive in the team’s moves, so we won’t blame him too much. This is on Atlanta’s front office for trading away too much and not addressing their defensive needs. Jones is another offensive weapon, but is outscoring everyone realistic? Probably not. They’ll need a Super Bowl win to justify the pick and trade and I don’t see that happening. Though the Falcons went 13-3 last year, their biggest problem was surrendering 48 points in the playoffs to the Packers and they didn’t do much to address that issue.
