With the star receiver unhappy in his current situation, where does he end up? Here are four locations he should go to.
June is upon us, which means trades and roster moves are finally underway. Many people are looking at Aaron Rodgers after June 1st and wondering where he’s going to end up. But for others, the most interesting player to watch is going to be Julio Jones.
Julio has demanded a trade from the Falcons and wants out of the ATL, which shouldn’t be too big of a surprise with how unhappy he has seemed to be for a couple of years now. Jones even confirmed his intent (although with or without his consent) on FOX Sports’ Undisputed with Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless.
So now NFL fans are left wondering where he’ll go, he has a pretty big cap hit if he goes to your team, about 15 million dollars for the first year, and doesn’t lighten until later. Here are some likely destinations for the Future Hall of Fame receiver and why he would fit in these locations.
Kansas City Chiefs
The best destination for Julio would be a contender like, I don’t know, a contender with a great quarterback and a Hall of Fame coach. It would be amazing to see Julio Jones catch passes from Patrick Mahomes with Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce as other options. It is a possibility the Kansas City Chiefs would want to trade for Julio Jones, but don’t count on them making the move without having to restructure more contracts than they already have.
Julio Jones would be unbelievable as a number two receiver next to Tyreek Hill, he has a huge frame and is an extremely physical receiver. He would help Kansas City become more efficient in the red zone, an area where they struggled at times last season. Julio Jones would be another great acquisition for Brett Veach in an offseason where the Chiefs made the moves to make sure they can contend another season. They made sure Patrick Mahomes was well protected by making moves along the offensive line. This would be another move where they made sure to capitalize on the championship window.
This move is a long shot for Kansas City, mainly due to the deals they have had to restructure so they could make the moves they already did. The Chiefs should monitor the situation around Julio and see if they could make the move, but it doesn’t seem likely the Chefs will make the move unless it really is in Kansas City’s favor.
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens should definitely be in the running for a wide receiver like Julio, especially when the passing game wasn’t the best in 2020. A lot of Lamar Jackson’s problem was the lack of weapons at receiver, Hollywood Brown shouldn’t have been the number one receiver on a contending team. The Ravens have great tight ends in Mark Andrews and Nick Boyle, but they did not have a lot of receiving threats.
Julio Jones would definitely help the Ravens finally get the franchise receiver they have needed since Steve Smith Sr. retired. They could also get Lamar Jackson a guy who can trust with clutch catches and someone who can beat corners, unlike what he’s had while in Baltimore. The Ravens with Julio, Sammy Watkins, Mark Andrews, Hollywood Brown, and Rashod Bateman would be a tough offense to stop.
The Ravens wouldn’t have to give up too much in draft capital and have the flexibility in the cap so they could afford his contract, at least this season.
The reason it might not happen is that the Ravens drafted Rashod Bateman from the University of Minnesota and they picked up Sammy Watkins from the Chiefs. The Ravens would probably want to see how Bateman and Watkins play with Lamar at OTA’s before making that type of decision on trading draft picks.
The Ravens are also not usually aggressive in going after trades in the off-season unless they are sure it will be a deal in their favor. Julio would be an incredible trade for the Ravens to help extend their championship window and get Lamar Jackson and the Ravens to top contention in the AFC.
Green Bay Packers
Do you want to try to get Aaron Rodgers to stay? Maybe a shiny new toy might just do the trick to bring him back into good graces with the Packers temporarily. It may be a long shot, but it might be a move to keep your Hall of Fame quarterback on a team that has gone to back-to-back NFC Championship games.
Julio and Devontae Adams would be the scariest one-two punch at receiver we’ve seen since Terrell Owens and Jerry Rice. It would be one of the most insane offenses of recent memory and I’m very much including the 2013 Broncos and the 2018 Chiefs. They already have a Pro Bowl running back in Aaron Jones and All-Pro offensive lineman. Julio would only make the offense that much better and make the Packers unstoppable.
The only reason they shouldn’t see if they could trade for Julio would be if, by the time this article comes out, Aaron Rodgers has retired or has been traded. Then there is no reason for the Packers to pursue this and they should try to build around Jordan Love in the draft the next couple of seasons.
But if the Packers can get a great wide receiver across from a great wide receiver and have a hall of fame quarterback throwing to them, you should go all in.
New England Patriots
*Imperial March plays*
You hear that?
Bill Belichick is trying to make a move that could make the Patriots dangerous. It’s not as scary as when they were the “evil empire” when they had Tom Brady, but it’s still scary that a Hall of Fame coach could be making good moves again.
Julio Jones would immediately help a team that had problems in the passing game the past couple of seasons, especially last year. Cam Newton just never looked right in his first year as a Patriot and never had a safety valve at wide receiver. N’Keal Harry is just not cutting it as the number one receiver in New England and Julio would make a be a huge upgrade.
It would be a trend with New England to go after another wide receiver or weapon this offseason. The Patriots made a lot of huge moves in free agency for the first time in what feels like forever, and they seem like they wanted to have roster turnover this season. Bringing in Julio for Cam, or even Mac Jones would be in line with what they have been doing. Julio would bring the presence they have needed in New England since they traded Randy Moss.
Adding Julio to the free-agent haul of Kendrick Bourne, Nelson Agholor, and Hunter Henry would be an amazing get for New England as they look to go after the Buffalo Bills in the AFC East.
Belichick is a great coach for a reason and the Patriots should be ready to compete for a playoff spot without Julio if they chose to not go that route. The Patriots may not want to go after a veteran wide receiver like Julio if they are going to hand the reins over to rookie Mac jones sooner rather than later. It might not be in their best interest to lose draft capital on a player which may not be involved in the future of your team. But the Patriots do seem like they are going all-in to get back into contention.
