Draft Week is finally here. Which means, mercifully, the end of mock draft season ... and the start of Draft Trade Season. And Monday is kicking off with talk of a potential blockbuster.
According to Bleacher Report, the Atlanta Falcons have been fielding multiple calls about the availability of wide receiver Julio Jones. The 32-year-old has three years remaining on his deal, with hefty cap charges that the cap-strapped Falcons can ill afford, especially this season (the team is roughly just $1 million under the cap heading into the draft). While Jones missed almost half of his 2020 games, when healthy he’s still one of the best receivers in the game. His all-time rankings are through the roof. If Atlanta is indeed willing to move on from Jones to allow first year head coach Arthur Smith to begin his roster overhaul you’d have to believe several teams in contention with elite receiver needs would be making that call.
And the New England Patriots should be one of them.
Now before you get visions of a Randy Moss 2.0 style fleecing in your head, let’s pump the blockbuster brakes. Nobody wants to help the Patriots out, and teams are likely suspicious when Bill Belichick calls in the first place. Add to that Moss’s stock being at an all-time low in April 2007, and Jones’ stock not being what it once was but still pretty high, and you have to believe he’ll cost a decent pick or three. But just how much for an elite but aging receiver due $15.3 million, $11.5 million and $11.5 million from 2021-2023?
Friend of the station, NBC’s Peter King, says a post-June 1st trade would allow the Falcons to mitigate 2021 cap charges, allowing them to sign their draft class while stockpiling picks for the future. King speculates that a future 2nd round pick might get it done, while SI’s Albert Breer believes Jones would cost a future first. A first rounder might be a bit steep considering Jones’s age and recent injury history. But if I’m the Patriots I get on the horn, continue my uncharacteristically aggressive offseason approach, and let the Falcons know they mean business.
I’d open with a 2022 second- and fourth-rounder, plus receiver N’Keal Harry, and wouldn’t hang up if Atlanta countered for a bit more. This deal gives the Falcons future draft capital, plus an affordable receiver replacement option for Jones. It’s a conservative understatement to say Harry may benefit from a fresh start, and if the Falcons move on from Jones there should be an opportunity in Atlanta with head coach Arthur Smith, who had success as the offensive coordinator in Tennessee developing AJ Brown, drafted just after Harry in 2019. Harry’s base salary and cap charges for 2021 & 2022 are a pittance compared to Jones (Harry’s rookie fifth year option comes up for 2023). Atlanta already has stud receiver Calvin Ridley as a No. 1, and has been linked to tight end Kyle Pitts with the #4 overall selection. Perhaps a change of scenery and no pressure to be a #1 receiver would help Harry realize his potential, and Jones find his Pro Bowl form again.
Imagine Jones, who’s almost the size of a tight end, lined up alongside Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry this season? There might not be a secondary in the NFL with the size to defend them. Or a Jones/Agholor/Bourne/Meyers four wide set? The options and possibilities for Josh McDaniels would be endless, and the chance prime for Jones to thrive once again. And any awkwardness Jones would feel by having to play his former team this season would be mitigated by a chance to make the playoffs again while playing for the greatest coach of all-time.
Calls will be placed. Wild trades will get floated. Speculation will run rampant. Huge deals will be made! That’s how draft week goes. And the Pats should continue their climb back to the top of a very competitive AFC East by capping off their most intense and expensive offseason with a trade for one of the best receivers this century. As the fans like to say, “You’d love to see it.”
