Julio Jones is frequently put in the conversation surrounding the NFL’s best wide receivers, but the Atlanta Falcons franchise player doesn’t live up to the hype in one area: scoring touchdowns. He’s hit pay dirt just three times this year, and only 21 times in his last 58 games, including the playoffs.
Part of that is due to the New Orleans Saints defense knowing his limitations. They haven’t allowed a touchdown catch to Jones since adding cornerback Marshon Lattimore and free safety Marcus Williams.
To give some context on how long it’s been, Jones caught his last touchdown pass against the Saints on Jan. 1, 2017 — nearly four months, or 114 days, before Lattimore and Williams would hear their names called in the first and second rounds of the 2017 draft. In the years that followed those picks, Lattimore has had his fifth-year option picked up and Williams is setting himself up to cash in as maybe the best safety in free agency.
Sure, Jones has had his moments. He’s crossed the 100 receiving yards milestone in two matchups with the Saints since then, but he couldn’t reach the end zone while Atlanta lost both of those games. He mostly padded his stats in garbage time, notching his first catch in one meeting after the Saints were up 17-3. In the other meeting, he didn’t record a catch of 20-plus yards until the Falcons were trailing 20-3.
Here’s your bottom line: the Falcons have gone 2-5 during his touchdowns drought. His lone fumble during that time against New Orleans arguably created more of an impact than his other plays, none of which scored points.
And the trend holds true throughout his career. In 18 all-time games with the Saints, his most frequent opponent, Jones has turned the ball over more often (4 fumbles) than he’s scored touchdowns (3) with it. There’s an argument to be made that the player some would name the best receiver in the NFL is actually a liability.
Now, that probably isn’t a very compelling argument. But we aren’t here to sway hearts and minds. We’re here to get petty and dunk on the Falcons for Falconing as hard as they can. And, buddy, this fits the bill.
