Wide receiver Julio Jones officially announced his retirement from the NFL on Friday, concluding a dominant 13-year career spent with the Atlanta Falcons, Tennessee Titans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Philadelphia Eagles. The next stop for him will almost certainly be the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
Perhaps as soon as he is eligible without any sort of a wait beyond that.
At his peak, Jones was not only one of the most productive wide receivers in the league, he was one of the most physically dominant players at the position and a constant, game-changing force. Especially during his time in Atlanta, where he remains the franchise’s all-time leader in several pass-catching categories, including most receptions and yards.
The only thing his career missed out on was a Super Bowl.
His only trip to the game was in 2016 with the Atlanta Falcons, where he capped off a dominant postseason run with what could have been remembered as one of the greatest Super Bowl catches of all time… had the Falcons been able to hold onto a 28-3 lead.
Jones finishes his career with 914 receptions, 13,703 yards and 66 touchdowns.
Along with the overall numbers, he also burst onto the scene and rose to NFL stardom in a way few other wide receivers have.
He is still the fastest player to reach the following milestones:
Fastest to 7,000 yards
Fastest to 9,000 yards
Fastest to 10,000 yards
Fastest to 11,000 yards
Fastest to 13,000 yards
He also holds the NFL record for the most consecutive 1,300-yard seasons (six), the most consecutive 1,400-yard seasons (five) and the most consecutive 1,500-yard seasons (two).
He missed a sixth-consecutive 1,400-yard season by just six yards in the 2019 season.
