The opening snaps of the NFL preseason has come and gone and the main headlines of Peyton Manning looking sharp, Ryan Matthews and Michael Vick injuries have already been discussed in articles and blogs around the nation. That being said none of those storylines are what caught my eye on the first night of the preseason.
The Matt Ryan to Julio Jones connections did however!
For the past couple of seasons the Falcons have run a pretty conservative offense, while allowing Matt Ryan to grow and mature as a passer, while it was only 1 quarter of preseason football it looks like this season just might be a breakout season for the Falcons offense. Ryan who always has the skill set now debatably has the best receiving core in the NFL. With two number 1 WRs in Julio Jones and Roddy White, a hall of fame tight end in Tony G and a track speed demon in Harry Douglas the Atlanta offense is now built to keep up with anyone.
The falcons wasted no time displaying their embarrassment of riches as Ryan went 9/13 for 155 yards on in the 1st quarter, highlighted with a beautiful fade pass and catch to Julio Jones in the back of the endzone for 6. Julio finished the quarter with 6 grabs on 7 targets with 109 yards and a touchdown. A 36 yard grab was his longest of the day. Roddy White didn’t leave the game empty handed as he still was able to grab 3 passes for 46 yards.
Julio looked absolutely dominant, and has the writing of a potential superstar in the making. I think the sky is the ceiling for this kid and if I am a fantasy football owner, I might only be targeting Calvin Johnson over him.
Here are a couple of tweets on Julio from last night :
Julio Jones is ridiculous.
James Walker @JamesWalkerESPN
Random NFL thought: You might want to draft WR Julio Jones on your fantasy team. #Falcons
Even Julio’s opponent of the night had something to say about the young stud’s performance.
WR Julio Jones put up six catches for 109 yards and a touchdown in the first quarter. Yikes. #Ravens
