If you ask many of the Alabama faithful, they will tell you that Julio Jones was the beginning of the dynasty. Coming out of high school, he was a five-star recruit and the No. 1 wide receiver in the 2008 class, and he was the first marquee signing of Nick Saban’s tenure.
Jones was the first true freshman wide receiver to ever start a season opener for the Crimson Tide and went on to be named the SEC Freshman of the Year. The following year, Alabama went on to win its first national championship under Nick Saban.
Jones left Tuscaloosa having started all 40 of his collegiate games and accumulated 179 receptions for 2,653 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns.
Jones has been just as dominant in the NFL with seven Pro Bowl appearances as well as being the NFL’s receiving yards leader in two different seasons. Jones is arguably a top-ten receiver in NFL history and was as good as anyone in the game from 2011 to 2020.
Jones spent the prime of his career, including a Super Bowl appearance, with the Atlanta Falcons before bouncing around to the Tennessee Titans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
At the age of 34, Jones probably only has a year or two left in the league, especially coming off of back-to-back seasons where he missed time due to injury, but in the right situation, I believe that Jones can still be a valuable contributor to a winning team. He probably isn’t a guy who can be relied on for 17 games a year with 11 catches a week, but he can be a veteran presence and a guy who can be spurts of himself in big moments.
I believe these are the five best landing spots for Julio Jones: