Nick Kayal spoke about how one of his guests last week made him have a change of heart. Pro Football Hall of Fame nominee, and former co-host of Nick Kayal, Derrick Mason joined The Nick Kayal Show last Saturday, and Nick asked Derrick about the future of the Atlanta Falcons, specifically the future of franchise cornerstones Matt Ryan and Julio Jones. Before Derrick answered Nick’s question Nick believed that the Falcons should trade Matt and Julio both to get some assets back for them. But after hearing the former Baltimore Ravens standout’s take on the situation he changed his outlook on things.
Derrick said, first and foremost, if the Atlanta Falcons do trade Julio Jones that they should allow Julio to decide where he goes. But then he continued by saying “If they move past Matt Ryan they're going to have to bring in a young quarterback, and there are two things that a young quarterback needs: he needs a really good running game, and he needs a pass-catcher he can rely on.
"Take Julio Jones out of the mix, I like Ridley I really do, but he’s not Julio Jones," Mason said. "You take Julio Jones out of the mix now you’re asking a young quarterback to basically fend for himself.”
That answer from Derrick Mason changed the way Nick Kayal looked at Julio Jones, and it changed the way Nick Kayal thinks about how the Falcons should move forward with Julio Jones.
Jump back ahead to this week and Nick explained how Julio Jones has “outlasted both AJ Green, Calvin Johnson, and even Antonio Brown.” Then Nick explained how Julio Jones has been “the ultimate pro.”
Finally, Nick brought it all together and elaborated on how Derrick Mason changed his mind.
“Derrick Mason is spot on, you cannot move on from Julio Jones if you’re going to bring in a new quarterback.”
Nick then goes on to say that if the Falcons move on from Julio then Calvin Ridley will start to see a lot of double teams, and then will the Falcons and their new quarterback be comfortable throwing at volume to guys like Russell Gage and Hayden Hurst? If the Atlanta Falcons are to bring in a young quarterback they must keep Julio Jones! Also, let’s be clear... By keeping Julio Jones the Falcons aren’t handicapping their team by any means and here’s why.
Not only has Julio been the ultimate pro off the field, but he’s been the ultimate pro on the field as well. In 132 career games and 1,301 career targets Julio Jones has 835 receptions, 12,709 yards, and 59 touchdowns. The numbers speak for themselves, and oh if you think Julio has been on the decline the last couple of years think again.
Pro Football Focus gives Julio Jones an 85.4 rating which is the highest rating on the entire Atlanta Falcons team. If the Atlanta Falcons are going to bring in a young quarterback they must keep the best wide receiver in the league, they must keep the best wide receiver on their team, and they must keep the best player on their team.
