NFL: Predicting this season’s award winners
By Brad Rowland
Comeback Player of the Year
Julio Jones, WR Atlanta Falcons
When the Atlanta Falcons gave up multiple draft picks to move up in an effort to grab Julio Jones with the sixth pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, the general consensus was some form of “he better be really good”. On the positive side for the Falcons, he certainly has lived up to the bill.
Unfortunately, the 6-foot-3, 220-pound Jones was sidelined for the great majority of the 2013 season with a broken foot, but before he left, Jones generated 41 catches for 580 yards and two touchdowns in just five games. In other words, he was on pace for 131 catches for 1,856 yards across a 16-game schedule, and that is the peak potential that they hyper-athletic Jones presents when teamed with Matt Ryan for the Atlanta offense.
The 25-year-old Jones appears to be healthy as the 2014 season approaches, and because he certainly qualifies based on last season’s absence, Jones is well on his way to a comeback player of the year honor.
Runner-up: Percy Harvin, WR Seattle Seahawks