24 (tie). Julio Jones
The Falcons didn’t want to pay Jones $22 million in his age-32 season, but the Titans were happy to bet on the veteran wide receiver’s long run of high-level production. Pairing him with A.J. Brown was too tempting of a proposition for Tennessee to pass up.
In fairness to Atlanta, they aren’t in a position to contend so it made sense for them to part with Jones while they could still get real value for him in a trade. The Titans, in sharp contrast, believe they are ready to make a credible Super Bowl run.
Jones needs to play up to his salary if that’s going to happen for Tennesee. If he plays like a No. 1 receiver then the Titans’ offense will be nearly impossible to stop. Remember, every defense encountering Tennessee still needs to worry about stopping Derrick Henry and the run game as well.
Jones’ contract may start to look worse as he starts to lose quickness due to age-related regression, but he’s still going to be a powerful wideout who can bully opposing defenders. There’s less risk in his contract moving forward than the Falcons’ front office believed.