Ex-Falcons WR Julio Jones Receives Great Recognition Upon Retirement

There's little doubt that former Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones will one day receive induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Jones is likely to be remembered as one of the best receivers of his generation.

Jones' greatness actually spans across multiple generations.

CBS Sports' Bryan DeArdo ranked the top 10 wide receivers since 2000 on April 5. DeArdo placed Jones at No. 4 on the list.

"Not many receivers in history enjoyed the run that Jones had in the 2010s," DeArdo wrote. "From 2012-19, Jones made the Pro Bowl seven times (including six straight years from 2014-19), led the NFL in receiving yards twice, average receiving yards per game three times, and receptions once.

"He also had seven 1,000-yard seasons over that span and averaged 1,565 yards receiving per season from 2014-19. Jones' 1,871 yards receiving in 2015 is the second-highest single-season total in league history."

The only receivers ahead of Jones on the list were Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson and Antonio Brown.

Jones is arguably the greatest player in Falcons history. No one had more first-team All-Pro seasons in a Falcons uniform than Jones, who is also the leader with seven Pro Bowl nominations for the franchise.

With all due respect to guys like Claude Humphrey, Mike Kenn and Tony Gonzalez, the only other players in the conversation for greatest Falcons of all time with Jones are Matt Ryan and Deion Sanders. In my opinion, it's between Ryan and Jones (Sanders didn't play long enough with the Falcons).

Sanders played five seasons for the Falcons. Jones had a five-year period where he registered at least 80 catches and 1,400 receiving yards every season.

During that span, he led the NFL in receiving twice and receptions once. Jones also averaged 15.3 yards per catch.

It's one of the greatest five-year runs for a receiver in NFL history. Jones also had two other campaigns with the Falcons where he eclipsed the 1,000-yard receiving mark.

Jones' career accomplishments gave him a spot on DeArdo's list ahead of some other legendary wide receivers. Andre Johnson rounded out the top five at No. 5.

Reggie Wayne, Steve Smith Sr., Mike Evans, DeAndre Hopkins and Devante Adams were the receivers ranked No. 6-10 on the list.