There is little question that Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Julio Jones is a first-ballot Hall of Famer. But after missing 14 games due to a variety of injuries over the last 2 years, it would appear Jones’ best days are long since past him. However, that has never stopped the Buccaneers from giving old players a chance at reigniting their careers in Florida.
Below, we look at Julio Jones‘ 2022 fantasy football average draft position (ADP) and where you should draft him.
Jones had his 2 least productive years of his career in the last 2 seasons and was a complete washout last year in Tennessee – averaging just 3 catches for 43 yards per game and scoring just 1 touchdown in the 10 games he played. He comes to a Tampa Bay team – Jones’ 3rd team in 3 years – that has given QB Tom Brady plenty of weapons at receiver, including Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and free-agent signee Russell Gage. So if he is to make an impact, it may take injuries to others to do so.
Julio Jones’ ADP: 144.67
(ADP data courtesy of MyFantasyLeague.com; last updated at time of this publishing – ADPs continually change as more drafts occur)
Jones finds himself in a cluster in the 13th round of 12-team leagues. It can be argued that Jones is the WR4 on the Bucs roster, and it shows with the players he is in the immediate vicinity of on ADP lists.
Jones’ ADP is at 144.19 currently, but has a lot of young players chasing him down, including Rondale Moore (Arizona Cardinals) at 146.11, Romeo Doubs (Green Bay Packers) at 147.04, Gage at 147.35 and Christian Watson (Green Bay Packers) at 147.66.
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Julio Jones’ 2021 stats
Games: 10
Receptions | targets: 31 | 48
Receiving yards: 434
Receiving touchdowns: 1
Where should you draft Jones?
I’ve always been a fan of Jones, but rarely ended up with him on a fantasy roster because I value touchdown scoring more than some. In 11 seasons, Jones has scored more than 8 touchdowns just once (in 2012) and has scored 6 TDs or less 7 times. Even worse, he has been shockingly non-productive in the red zone, where you would think he would have mismatches constantly.
The upside is that, as a No. 4 receiver instead of a WR1 or WR2 he has been his entire career, Jones is going to be covered by nickel corners more often than not, and Brady knows how to exploit a mismatch.
When it comes down to it, when you’re at the point of taking a player for your last non-kicker, I would rather roll the dice on someone Watson or Gage, who have a higher ceiling. Jones is a nostalgia pick that’s nice to have on your roster, but you really hope you don’t need to count on him for a stretch of games.
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