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Julio Jones is coming off a remarkable season in 2021. Remarkably bad.
The Tennessee Titans used a first-round draft selection to attain Jones from the Atlanta Falcons. By doing so, they hoped he would be the piece which put them over the top in the AFC. He was not. Instead, he, along with the injury to Derrick Henry, were a major reason the Titans lost to the Cincinnati Bengals in the Divisional round of the playoffs.
After routinely averaging more than six receptions a game in his time with the Atlanta Falcons, Jones was barely able to average three in his lone season with Tennessee. Another of his lingering issues also emerged. Injury. Can this year be any different with a new team?
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Can Julio Jones Avoid the Injury Bug?
Jones has always been limited in practices, once famously saying, "If I am on the injury report, do not play me in fantasy." Last season it came to fruition as Jones only managed to play in 10 games. In those games, Jones had 31 receptions and 434 yards with no receiving touchdowns.
In Tampa Bay, he could be reborn. He is playing with the greatest quarterback of all time in Tom Brady, and he will be playing alongside the best group of receivers he has ever played with. Mike Evans has yet to go under 1,000 yards in a season. So, his production is set in stone. The wild card is Chris Godwin.
Coming off a torn ACL, Godwin has been cleared for contact. But this does not mean he will start the season active. If he does not, the 33-year-old Jones will have a lot of room to be successful. He is one of the most talented wide receivers of the past 20 years. This does not just go away.
It may have diminished a little with age, but he can still have his moments. Even in a terrible 2021 season, he did have one game where he had more than 120 yards receiving.
Should I Draft Julio Jones for Fantasy Football in 2022?
The prospects of Jones having a bounce-back season correlate entirely with the health of Chris Godwin. If it comes to be that Godwin is out for multiple weeks early in the season, Jones will be a WR2 or WR3 with the upside of a top-20 wide receiver.
If Godwin is good to go in Week 1 or 2, Jones will take a hit and will be more of a WR4 with boom-week potential. At the low cost of a late-round pick, it doesn't hurt to take a flier on a once-elite receiver if he manages to stay healthy.
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