Julio Jones reached 9,000 receiving yards faster than any other wide receiver

While Matt Ryan was out there beating Peyton Manning’s NFL mark for passing yardage through 10 seasons, Julio was hitting another milestone of his own. Great players do great things, breaking news.

With his mild-to-moderate torching of the Carolina secondary, Julio got to 9,000 yards faster than any other receiver in NFL history, and finished the 2017 season with 9,054 total yards. He got there in just 95 games, which is faster than previous record-holder Lance Allworth (95 games) and the great Calvin Johnson (102 games).

His five catch, 80 yard day helped the Falcons to their 10th victory and a playoff berth, and Julio finishes the year with 88 receptions, 1,444 yards, and three touchdown grabs. Besides the disappointing scoring, he outperformed his 2016 campaign, and continues to be one of the two or three best receivers in the entire NFL.

At his current pace, Julio will blow by Roddy White sometime in 2019 for the franchise’s all-time receiving yardage mark, and will make a push for all-time NFL receptions and yardage marks sometimes in the 2020s. He’s had his share of nicks and bruises in 2017, but he played in 16 games this season and should be good to go for the playoffs, where he’ll work against a solid Los Angeles secondary for the first time this year. May he destroy them.