Julio Jones believes Justin Gatlin would be better NFL receiver than Usain Bolt
By Roje Smith
Atlanta Falcons receiver Julio Jones loves Jamaica’s Usain Bolt on the track, but not so much on the gridiron, where he actually prefers 100m silver medalist Justin Gatlin.
The 2016 Rio Olympics concluded on Sunday, but the athletes are still hot topics in conversations. A couple of those athletes are sprint rivals Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin. Bolt outperformed Gatlin in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay on his way to an unprecedented “triple-triple.” However, there are some that believe that Bolt would be the inferior athlete in the world of the NFL.
Julio Jones, a three-time Pro Bowl WR, is one of those people that feels Bolt wouldn’t be as successful as an NFL receiver. Jones told reporters that he was amazed by Bolt’s performance at the Olympics. He even admitted that Usain is unstoppable once his top speed is hit. However, Jones is not a fan of Bolt’s slow starts and feels that it would translate negatively in the NFL. Julio feels that the skill set of Justin Gatlin would be preferable.
Jones told ESPN’s Vaughn McClure that a pro receiver needs to have a strong burst to get going. This burst, also known as acceleration, is something that he feels Gatlin has over Bolt. Jones also mentioned that there are a bunch of “Justin Gatlins in football” who can hit their top speed quickly. This allows them to pull away from defenders and it’s something that would be hard for Bolt to do.
When Jones was questioned about Bolt’s potential as a kick returner, he expressed a similar doubt. Despite having more room to accelerate, Julio believes that it would still be difficult for Usain. This is mostly due to the change of direction aspect.
Bolt and Gatlin plan to retire from sprinting soon and a stint in the NFL is highly unlikely. It’s still interesting to get an elite receiver’s thoughts on why he feels the fastest man ever wouldn’t fare as well in pro football.