The Atlanta Falcons may never escape their legacy as the team who blew a 28-3 lead in the Super Bowl. But future HOFers Matt Ryan and Julio Jones will still go down as one of the greatest QB-WR tandems of all time. While Matt Ryan did not make the cut, partially due to the guy who led the 28-3 comeback against him, Julio Jones earned the honor of being the only Falcon named to Jonathon Macri’s All-PFF Team.
Jones’ Dominant Stretch from 2015-19 Not Replicated…Yet
Macri writes that Jones’ dominance from 2015-19 is “one of the more impressive accomplishments in PFF history.” The future HOFer earned at least a 90.0 PFF receiving grade in five straight seasons, while Macri notes that “No other wide receiver has more than three such seasons in their NFL careers.”
His 2016 season is the one that stands out most to Macri, who notes that Jones set a record for the highest PFF receiving grade in a season (93.4). Jones earned First-Team All-Pro honors by racking up 83 receptions, 1,409 yards and 6 touchdowns in just 14 games.
Jones’ dominance actually stretches back further than that. In fact, as Falcons Digital Team Reporter Terrin Waack noted in her piece commemorating Jones’ retirement, “Jones totaled more receiving yards, yards after the catch and first downs off a reception than any other player in the league” during his time in Atlanta. Waack also pointed out that Julio Jones “surpassed Jerry Rice as the fastest player in NFL history to reach 12,000 receiving yards during the 2019 season.”
These @juliojones_11 franchise records 😮💨
Career receiving yards
Single season rec yds
Career receptions
Rec yds in a game
Rec yds in a playoff game
Receptions (single season)
100-yd rec games
100-yd rec games in a season
Seasons with 100 catches
Games with 250+ rec yds pic.twitter.com/cE3T1yiQPw— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) April 5, 2025
Future HOFer Will Be Eligible in 2029
Following the announcement of his retirement just over a month ago on April 4, Jones will now have to wait until 2029 to be eligible for the Hall of Fame. According to Pro Football Reference’s Hall of Fame Monitor, Jones ranks as the 13th-best wide receiver in league history. His Hall of Fame Monitor (HOFm) score of 108.60 is higher than that of the average HOF wide receiver (100).
Larry Fitzgerald (141.09), Reggie Wayne (111.14), Torry Holt (109.22) and Steve Smith Sr. (100.41) are the only other wide receivers who are non-HOFers with scores above the average. Of those four, Holt has been eligible the longest (10 years). Wayne is currently in a six-year drought, but will likely be a finalist for the seventh time this February. Smith Sr. just missed the cut during his first year of eligibility this past February. Fitzgerald is eligible for the first time this year, and is about as close to a no-doubt, first-ballot HOFer as it gets.
CBS Sports‘ Bryan DeArdo notes that while receivers have had a difficult time breaking through in recent years, “Jones is a shoo-in for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame at some point.”
In a separate piece, DeArdo contextualized where Jones ranks among the best at his position since 2000, ranking him just below future HOFer Larry Fitzgerald, HOFer Calvin Johnson and possible future HOFer Antonio Brown. Fitzgerald should be inducted as a first-ballot HOFer in February. Brown, who may face an uphill battle due to concerns both on and off the field, will be eligible in 2027.
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