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Daily Links & Banter 7/25: Julio Jones 3000

By Christian Candeloro

CHARLOTTE, NC - DECEMBER 24: Julio Jones #11 of the Atlanta Falcons runs the ball against James Bradberry #24 of the Carolina Panthers in the 1st quarter during their game at Bank of America Stadium on December 24, 2016 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NC - DECEMBER 24: Julio Jones #11 of the Atlanta Falcons runs the ball against James Bradberry #24 of the Carolina Panthers in the 1st quarter during their game at Bank of America Stadium on December 24, 2016 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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Good morning, it’s July 25th and Julio Jones is going to terrorize the NFL this season.

The Carolina Panthers have the misfortune of facing Julio Jones, the talented Atlanta Falcons wide receiver, twice per season. Those two meetings might become a little more painful.

The two-time league leader in receiving yards is vying for a new contract from the Falcons and he made his intentions very clear: he’s going to have a career year in 2019.

“I’m going crazy this year,” Jones told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Wednesday. “I’m going crazy. I’ve been doing everything that I need to do. I’m taking care of my body. Physically and mentally, I’ll be ready to go…..I’m not a prediction-type guy, but I might mess around and go three (thousand), you know what I’m talking about,”

The idea of a player reaching 3,000 receiving yards is almost unfathomable because well, no one has ever even reached 2,000 yards. The all-time single-season record for receiving yards is 1,964 set by Detroit’s Calvin Johnson in 2012.

ATLANTA, GA – SEPTEMBER 16: Julio Jones #11 of the Atlanta Falcons lines up against the Carolina Panthers during the first half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on September 16, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA – SEPTEMBER 16: Julio Jones #11 of the Atlanta Falcons lines up against the Carolina Panthers during the first half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on September 16, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) /

To reach this crazy milestone, Jones would have to average 187.5 yards per game (the league record is 129). His career average is 15.4 yards per reception, which means he’d have to average over 12 catches per game, or 194 for the season (Marvin Harrison holds the record with 143).

It’s safe to say that Jones isn’t going to hit 3,000 yards this year, but the thought of playing a peeved Jones looking for a new contract isn’t the most exciting. Jones already led the NFL last season in receiving yards and with questions up and down the Panthers secondary, this can’t be good news for Jones’ division rival.

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