In my continuing quest to bring you free agents the Falcons could sign but that none of you really like, I present current Green Bay Packers wide receiver James Jones.
As I see Jones, he's somewhat of a Roddy White Lite. On the plus side, he's got good size at 6'1" and 208 pounds, has a knack for getting open and has shown the ability to make a handful of explosive plays a game. On the minus side of things, Jones isn't known as a particularly crisp route runner or a guy who gives 110% on every play, and he's got a chronic case of dropsy. Are you sold yet?
I'm a firm believer that the right situation can bring out the best in guys like Jones, who have all the talent in the world but haven't delivered on the promise. Roddy's been down that road and can talk to Jones, and the locker room atmosphere the Falcons have can only be a plus. Also, on Green Bay Jones is at best the third fiddle in the receiving corps. If he came to Atlanta, the Falcons would be likely to give him a shot outside White, which would be fantastic motivation.
And even with the knocks on him, Jones reeled in 50 catches for 679 yards and 5 touchdowns in 2010, numbers better than Michael Jenkins (41, 505, 2) put up. I know Jones is doing that in a much more pass-heavy offense, but my point is that the potential is there. I see him as being an upgrade, one that would allow the Falcons to move Jenkins into the slot/alternate the two receivers outside, experiment with Harry Douglas more as a weapon and keep Kerry Meier around as a project. Then, as some have suggested, you can continue to bolster the defense through the draft.
I don't expect this to be the most popular potential signing, but please weigh in. Let's discuss.