Atlanta Falcons Legend Earns Spot on PFF’s Quarter Century Team

Just over a month after announcing his retirement, an Atlanta Falcons’ legend has been recognized among the top players since the turn of the century.

Seven-time Pro Bowler Julio Jones earned a spot on the All-PFF team, which names the top NFL players of the past 25 years.

Jones is the second-highest rated wide receiver in the site’s history (94.8 career PFF grade), sitting just a single decimal point behind Antonio Brown (94.9).

“Jones enjoyed five straight seasons (2015-19) with at least a 90.0 PFF receiving grade, a feat that hasn't been replicated. No other wide receiver has more than three such seasons in their NFL careers,” wrote Jonathan Macri on PFF.

“Jones’s dominance over that stretch is one of the more impressive accomplishments in PFF history, with his 2016 season standing out, in particular. He set a record for PFF receiving grade in a season (93.4) at that point, beating Antonio Brown’s 2015 mark. Jones’s 2.53 yards per route run for his career is still the top mark for a wide receiver who has played more than six NFL seasons since 2006, and his 409 career explosive receptions (15-plus yards) are still the most in PFF history.”

Macri pointed to Jones’ performance throughout the 2016-2017 season as an example of his dominance. That year, Jones finished with the highest single-season receiving grade in PFF history (93.4) while helping lead the Falcons to their first Super Bowl appearance in nearly 20 years.

 Although he missed several games that season, Jones still managed to catch 83 passes for 1,409 yards and six touchdowns during the regular season. In the Super Bowl, he hauled in four passes for 87 yards, including a near gravity-defying sideline snag late in the fourth quarter, that should have been enough to win the Falcons their first Lombardi Trophy.

Through 10 seasons in Atlanta, Jones played in 135 games, catching 848 passes for 12,896 yards and 60 touchdowns. By the time he left the Falcons, the Alabama product was the franchise’s all-time leader in receiving yards, while sitting second in receptions and receiving touchdowns behind Roddy White.

When it was time to hang them up, Jones walked away as one of the best receivers in NFL history, not just Falcons history. 

The future Hall of Famer finished his career with the fifth-most receiving yards per game (82.3) in NFL history, while also being the fastest NFL receiver to reach 11,000 career receiving yards. Throughout his career, Jones recorded three games of 250 receiving yards or more, the most in NFL history. According to PFF, Jones has 409 career receptions beyond 15 yards, the most since the site launched in 2006.