Julio Jones Will Make Titans Serious Contenders

The Julio Jones era in Tennessee is about to begin.

Reports have been made today that a trade for the star wide receiver has been agreed to between the Atlanta Falcons and the Tennessee Titans.

After Jones told Shannon Sharpe a few weeks ago that he wouldn’t be returning to Atlanta, rumors have been circulating around potential landing spots for the former University of Alabama wideout. The Titans, along with many other teams including the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots, were rumored to be among the top destinations for Jones.

Jones will provide the Titans with some help through the air, but maybe even more important than that, he will help clear out the box for Derrick Henry. Henry became the eighth player in NFL history to surpass 2,000 yards rushing in a single season last year, and you can be assured that he would be facing many defenses in 2021 that would load up the box to try to stop him.

Now with Julio out wide, teams will have to pick their poison and decide who they will want to key in on stopping. You can’t double-team Julio while also loading up the box to stop Henry.

Before the trade was made official, WynnBET had the Titans’ odds to win Super Bowl 56 set at +4000. Since the trade was announced, they've shifted their Super Bowl odds to +2000. That's quite the significant change, and now the Titans have ninth-shortest odds in the NFL to lift the Vince Lombardi Trophy this season.

The Titans were fifth in offensive yards per game in 2020, averaging 385.4, but they only averaged 224.2 through the air which ranked 23rd in the NFL. Tennessee lost to the Baltimore Ravens in the wild card round of the playoffs last year.

Julio has battled nagging injuries throughout the past few seasons, and he played in only nine games in 2020 grabbing 51 catches for 771 yards. He’s certainly no longer in the prime of career, but if he can manage to stay healthy in 2021 he’ll be a fantastic offensive weapon for the Titans.

The Titans still have a lot of holes to fill on the defensive side of the football, as they ranked 29th in 2020 in opponent yards per game, giving up an average of 398.4. Only the Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Detroit Lions were worse on defense last season.