Julio Jones is the best receiving option for the Atlanta Falcons, and he provides them with an offensive weapon that no one else in the league has. One could make the argument that he is a better receiver than Odell Beckham, but he does not get in the end zone all that often. Is that because the Falcons prefer to punch the ball in with their running backs? Is that because he is a deep threat that merely gets the Falcons close? Or, is this a problem with the Falcons offense that they are not addressing?
The system works
The system that is run in Atlanta is the best offense in football, and they are not going to get worse any time soon.
All their pieces are fairly young, and they are now finding that Austin Hooper is an amazing tight end. The Falcons look like one of those teams that just keeps finding people that will fit in their system. You and I had no idea who Austin Hooper was a couple weeks ago, but he became a brilliant tight end in the NFL after making just a couple catches. Jones is in the right system, but it does not seem to be made to create scoring chances for him.
They run the ball
Most teams in the NFL have nobody who can threaten a defense running. These teams just want to run the ball enough to make sure that the defense will respect that phase of their offense. The Falcons have two very good running backs, and they use them often.
Jones is losing out on touchdowns because the Falcons will run the ball every game whether we like it or not. They will not get away from that part of their game, and we should note that they have been a running team since Matt Ryan was drafted. All the years with Mike Smith as head coach featured a good running back, and the team has been rebuilt as a running team with Dan Quinn.
Who cares?
Fantasy football owners care if Julio is scoring or not. They are getting points for touchdowns, and they want to see those extra receptions on the stat line at the end of the game. Julio Jones is problematic only where fantasy football is concerned. He is a brilliant player, and he will accumulate amazing stats even if he is not scoring.
Fantasy football owners can complain, but there seems to be no reason for the Falcons to fling the ball to Jones in the end zone. Jones serves as a decoy because the defense has to respect his abilities. Drawing attention away from other players is a good way to use Jones in the red zone, and the Falcons will keep scoring because Julio is terrifying defensive coordinators who do not want to be beaten by him.
