Five Reasons the Titans Should Trade for Julio Jones

A.J. Brown needs a running mate, Ryan Tannehill could always use more targets and more.

It has become one of the prevailing storylines of the NFL offseason.

Will the Atlanta Falcons trade wide receiver Julio Jones? And if so, which team will acquire the seven-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro?

Sports gambling outlets consider the Tennessee Titans one of the likely destinations. In fact, FanDuel lists the Titans as the favorites to have Jones on their roster in 2021 ahead of Atlanta and New England.

Let’s forget for a minute what it would take for Tennessee to get him in terms of compensation and salary cap management and just look at what the franchise that has had five straight winning seasons and is fresh off its first division title since 2008 stands to gain from such a deal.

Here are five reasons the Titans should trade for Julio Jones.

A.J. Brown can’t do it alone. Jerry Rice had John Taylor. Marvin Harrison had Reggie Wayne. Randy Moss had Cris Carter. Pretty much all of the best wide receivers of the modern era had somebody who was better than good on the other side, which kept defenses honest and created opportunities.

Brown is young and strong, and after two seasons he should be considered the Titans’ number-one option in the passing game at all times. With all due respect to free-agent addition Josh Reynolds, he does not scare anybody. And there is no one else on the roster who has proven himself to any notable degree in the NFL.

Not only would Jones be better—much better—than any of the current options, he also would be better than last season’s No. 2, Corey Davis, and quite likely the best No. 2 wide receiver in the league.

Questions remain about the defense. The secondary has been overhauled after the Titans struggled in pass defense and to get off the field on third down in 2020 (the two are related).

There is no guarantee it has been fixed, though. That means that there might be times this season when they are forced to play from behind. For all that running back Derrick Henry does for and means to the offense, he is not the same guy when Tennessee is trailing. In 2020, he averaged nearly one full yard fewer per carry when the Titans were behind than when they had the lead. For his career, that difference is more than a yard per carry.

No one can put away an already-reeling opponent like Henry. But the offense is going to need more from the passing game in order to rally on the days when that is required.

The Titans might finally get something from the top of the 2011 NFL Draft. The Falcons selected Jones sixth overall in 2011, two spots before Tennessee chose Jake Locker. The plan was for Locker to be a franchise quarterback, but that did not work out. He started just 23 games (and won nine) before he gave up the game after just four seasons.

Tennessee tried again in 2018 when it signed free agent Blaine Gabbert, the 10th overall selection that year, to be their backup to Marcus Mariota. Gabbert started three games that season capped by a win-and-in playoff showdown with Indianapolis in Week 17, in which he threw two interceptions in a 33-17 defeat.

It is now a decade later, and it would not take much for Jones to do more for Tennessee than any other 2011 top-10 pick.

Ryan Tannehill is not getting any younger. Tannehill has played the best football of his career since he became the Titans’ starter in Week 7 of 2019, but he is 32 years old (he will be 33 by the time the season starts).

Granted, age has yet to catch up to Tom Brady, but chances are it will get to Tannehill at some point. There also has been no indication that Tannehill has Brady’s ability to get more than expected out of ordinary receivers. But he has the experience and the accuracy to take advantage of talented guys, the way he did with Corey Davis and Jonnu Smith, two of his top targets the last two years who left via free agency this offseason.

The Titans have waited a long time to have a quarterback playing the way Tannehill has, from the Vince Young/Kerry Collins days to Locker and then Mariota. Now that they have Tannehill, they should not take it for granted.

The other receivers would benefit from Jones’ experience. Jones has played 135 games and has caught 848 passes in his career. Among active wide receivers, only two (Larry Fitzgerald and Antonio Brown) have more receptions.

Every wide receiver currently on the Titans’ roster has combined for 239 games played and 416 catches. Jones, in fact, once caught more passes in a single season (an NFL-best 136 in 2015) than Brown has in his first two seasons combined (122).

As a youngster, Jones learned from Roddy White. In recent years, he served as a mentor to Calvin Ridley. There is no one in Tennessee’s wide receiver room who could not learn something from Jones, whether it is Brown dealing with increased attention from opposing defenses, rookies Dez Fitzpatrick and Racey McMath on becoming professionals or anyone in between.