The Titans made waves on Sunday by winning the ongoing Julio Jones sweepstakes. Tennessee sends a 2022 second-round pick and a 2023 fourth-rounder and in return receives a 2023 sixth-rounder and Jones, the seven-time Pro Bowler.
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Although he's 32 and the twilight of his career is rapidly approaching, he still had 771 yards in nine games in 2020, and is two years removed from a 99-catch, 1,394-yard season. The thought of he and AJ Brown now together is a scary thought for a team already needing to worry about stopping Derrick Henry and the ground game.
Does the Jones trade give the Titans the best RB/WR/WR combo in the NFL? They certainly have a case. See where they rank!
5) Green Bay Packers (Aaron Jones, Davante Adams & Marquez Valdes-Scandling): One of these three is not like the other (sorry MVS), but the first two are so good that it almost doesn't matter who the WR2 is for Green Bay. The Packers finally appear ready to hand the reins in the backfield entirely to Jones, who had a second straight 1,000-yard season in 2020, after Jamaal Williams left in free agency.
Adams goes into Superman mode a few times each week and might be the most uncoverable receiver in the game today, highlighted by a 115-catch, 1,374-yard and 18 touchdown season in 2020. MVS appears to have the tools and had a career high in yards (690) and TDs (6) in his third year. But Jones and Adams are going the vast majority of the pulling here. Now about the quarterback...
4) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Ronald Jones, Mike Evans & Chris Godwin): Jones is the weakest of the running back options on this list, without a 1,000-yard season to his name (though he came close in 2020, with 925 yards). But that Evans/Godwin duo at wideout is terrifying (and don't forget who's throwing them the ball...)
Evans has hit the 1,000-yard mark in each of his second NFL seasons, last year tacking on a career-high 13 touchdowns for good measure. Godwin likely would have joined him, but missed four games due to injury. If Jones can wrestle the job officially from Leonard Fournette -- or if the former fourth overall pick can do it to Jones -- this trio will only get scarier.
3) Seattle Seahawks (Chris Carson, DK Metcalf & Tyler Lockett): We don't really know what the Seahawks are doing on offense sometimes (#LetRussCook), but the skill weapons are proven commodities. Carson had a down 2020, with just 681 yards and five touchdowns in 12 games, but he had at least 1,150 yards in both 2018 and 2019, so he gets the benefit of the doubt (for now).
Metcalf, meanwhile, was one of the breakout stars of the 2020 season with 1,303 yards and 10 TDs. And Lockett is one of the most underappreciated wideouts in the league, with consecutive years of at least 100 receptions and 1,000 yards. They are the only duo on this list who both hit the 1,000-yard mark in 2020.
2) Minnesota Vikings (Dalvin Cook, Justin Jefferson & Adam Thielen): After starting off his career with some injury-riddled seasons, Cook has firmly established himself as one of the top two or three running backs in the NFL after a 2020 year in which he combined for 1,918 rushing/receiving yards and 17 touchdowns. Justin Jefferson looked every bit the part of a superstar wide receiver with a 1,400-yard rookie season... and he'll only be 22 when the season starts. Then there's the consistent Thielen, who had a second straight sub-1,000 yard season in 2020 (74 catches for 925 yards) but made up for it by shattering his previous career high with 14 touchdowns.
1) Tennessee Titans (Derrick Henry, AJ Brown & Julio Jones): This is an entirely different argument, but you can make a case that the Henry/Brown/Jones trio is the most physically imposing combination of skill players ever put on a football field. The 6-3, 247-lb. Henry just came off a 2,000-yard season and has led the NFL in rushing and touchdowns in two straight years. The 6-0, 226-lb. Brown made his first Pro Bowl in 2020, topping the 1,000-yard mark with 11 touchdowns in 14 games. And then the 6-3, 220-lb. Jones should be fully healthy and back to putting up 1,400-yard seasons, something that basically happened consecutively from 2014-19 (we'll round the 1,394 yards up).