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Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones is talented and productive. He’s played in 74 career games, and through those games he has 7,131 receiving yards. Not bad. He also has 33 games over the course of that span in which he has exceeded 100 receiving yards. That’s pretty impressive.
I mean, look at this guy.
Here’s the thing, though, about Jones’ career that is really staggering. Nobody else in the NFL since the merger in 1966 has accomplished these feats in fewer than 83 games. Julio has done it in just 74 games.
Julio’s response to this?
He smiled and said, “I did all right.”
The other thing about Julio is that there’s not a hint of arrogance in him. Confidence? Yes. He knows how good he is. He also is fully aware of the fact that football is the ultimate team sport, and without his teammates, he couldn’t have accomplished so much in such a short time.
“That’s just from my quarterback and the offensive line I’ve had over the years, including my other receivers,” Jones said. “Those guys allow me to go out there and just play ball for them. The defense, getting the ball back to us.”
Still, even Jones recognized the magnitude of what he’s accomplished so much more quickly than any other player since the merger.
“Obviously, I can’t remember the numbers you just said, but they sound pretty cool,” Jones said.
They are pretty cool numbers. Jones is a special player, and it’s not just his superhuman talent. It’s the impeccable work ethic, team-first mentality and the complete absence of arrogance that make Jones so damn good, and I personally think he doesn’t get enough credit for those traits. The Falcons are fortunate to have him.