Tennessee Titans wide receiver Julio Jones has been given the fifth-best odds to win the AP Comeback Player of the Year award in 2021.
According to BetMGM, Jones’ odds sit at +1200 to win the award. Only six players were given better odds to take home the honor; they are as follows:
Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott: +180
New York Giants RB Saquon Barkley: +500
Carolina Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey: +600
Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow: +800
San Francisco 49ers EDGE Nick Bosa: +800
Indianapolis Colts QB Carson Wentz: +800
The 32-year-old future Hall of Famer is coming off an injury-shortened season in which he played in just nine games, totaling 771 yards and three touchdowns.
As a result of last season, his having played through injury several times during his career, and his age, there have been some concerns about Jones’ future viability.
The former Atlanta Falcons star eased those concerns a bit when he revealed that he had trouble getting fully healthy last season because he tried to rush back too quickly from his injury, via D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“To the games last year, I had an issue (grade 2 quad hamstring strain) where I didn’t take enough time to heal up properly, but you know, that was just my decision, going out there and just playing. No excuses, things like that. I’ll be ready to go. For those who are questioning my health and things like that, just stayed tuned.”
When on the field, Jones was still very productive, as his 85.7 yards per contest ranked seventh in the NFL. Also bear in mind he was playing hurt and had competition for targets with budding star Calvin Ridley.
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The idea that Jones is injury prone is overblown. The former No. 6 overall pick has played in 13 games or more in eight of his 10 seasons, including four seasons with 16 games played, and a grand total of seven campaigns with 14 or more games played.
Jones might not see the number of targets he saw during his days in Atlanta, as Tennessee sports a run-first offense with Derrick Henry and a fellow No. 1 receiver in A.J. Brown.
But after nearly supporting two 1,000-yard receivers last season, there should be enough opportunities to go around for Jones to put up the kind of production necessary to win the award.
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