Should Julio Jones be considered for WR1 in 2019 drafts?

Fantasy football season has begun, and it’s time to start establishing rankings.

So far, it seems wide receiver rankings are always headed by one of two players: Davante Adams or DeAndre Hopkins. Both are coming off career seasons, but there is one more name that deserves to be thrown into the conversation.

 Julio Jones seems to have multiple negative narratives written about him each season, narratives that lead us to believe he is not a safe bet nor is he worth consideration as one of the top wide receivers off the board. How did Jones stack up against Hopkins and Adams in 2018?

 Adams: 111 receptions, 1,386 yards, 13 TD’s, 330 Fantasy Points.

Hopkins: 115 receptions, 1,572 yards, 11 TD’s, 334 Fantasy Points.

Jones: 113 receptions, 1,677 yards, 8 TD’s, 326 Fantasy Points.

 All three receivers had incredible seasons, but what makes these players stand out? Each player led the group in at least one category. Hopkins in receptions, Jones in yards, and Adams in touchdowns. With only eight points differentiating the three, they were all league winners in 2018. How have they all faired since 2016?

 Adams: 45 games, 260 receptions, 3,268 yards, 35 TD’s, 797 Fantasy Points.

Hopkins: 47 games, 289 receptions, 3,904 yards, 28 TD’s, 847 Fantasy Points.

Jones: 46 games, 284 receptions, 4,530 yards, 17 TD’s, 839 Fantasy Points.

 The past three years have been the same as this year. Adams lead the group in TD’s, Hopkins in receptions, and Jones in yards, but they are all within the same range in total fantasy points, with Adams falling behind the other two. So why isn’t Jones being considered in the same range as Hopkins and Adams this season? As I mentioned already, there always seem to be narratives at play that push down Jones draft stock. Let me attempt to debunk these now.

Narrative 1: Jones doesn’t catch touchdowns.

 Among the top wide receivers, Jones is indeed trailing in total touchdowns. Since entering the league in 2011, Jones trails only Antonio Brown in receptions and receiving yards, has the most 100-yard games, and yet he’s ninth in touchdowns. In 2017, Jones was the first player in NFL history with 1300+ yards but failed to score 4 touchdowns. For whatever reason, he doesn’t score touchdowns at the same rate as his elite position mates. Let me ask you, does it really matter? If Jones is putting up points, and we’ve seen that he is from reception and yards, who cares where he’s getting his points from. A case could be made that touchdowns, despite being the highest scoring play in fantasy, are the least reliable of the three traits used for fantasy scoring. If Jones can put up his numbers on receptions and yards, he doesn’t need touchdowns to be elite.

Narrative 2: Julio is too boom or bust.

“Sure, Jones’s great some weeks, but nobody wants him on their team when he scores 0 points.” We’ve all heard that before. This is just a narrative, not a fact. In the past 3 seasons, Hopkins has 37 games with 10 PPR points, Jones has 35 but al has 18 20-point games to Hopkins’ 12. So, while he indeed does have those “boom” games, he’s still putting up at least 10 PPR points in 76% of his games.

Narrative 3: Jones is injury prone.

 Jones has had several injuries over his career and seems to always have the “questionable” tag due to multiple hamstring, calf, and toe injuries. However, despite being questionable, Jones doesn’t miss games. He has only missed three games in the last five years. He is a tremendous athlete, able to fight through lower-body injuries and produce on the field.

The bottom line is this, Jones is elite, and has been for years. He is the first receiver in NFL history with five straight seasons of 1,400 receiving yards. He’s as consistent as anyone in the game, he isn’t slowing down, he’s hitched to a former MVP Quarterback that shares amazing chemistry, and he should be considered as the top WR for 2019 drafts.