Why are the Denver Broncos being linked to Julio Jones?
In my opinion, the most bizarre thing to come of this Denver Broncos offseason is the national media hype for the Broncos making a trade for All-Pro wide receiver Julio Jones.
I just don’t.
Our KING Sayre Bedinger recently wrote a piece addressing the implications of a potential Julio Jones-Broncos union, so I’ll link it here, but I just cannot see a valid argument for acquiring his services, though I will try to put myself in the shoes of the ambitious analyst who seems to think it makes sense.
First, I want to go over why this trade makes zero sense at all.
Yeah, Julio is perhaps the greatest receiver of our generation and potentially top 10 all-time, but the Denver Broncos already boast the deepest receiving core in the NFL.
We saw the emergence of Tim Patrick last year in absence of Courtland Sutton. We also saw Jerry Jeudy put up very solid numbers even with his struggles, and KJ Hamler showed that he can be a viable deep threat in the NFL.
Not only that, Tyrie Cleveland is poised to have a mini-breakout year, and Diontae “God ⚡️peed” Spencer is a nice change of pace receiver on sweeps and reversals.
Listen, we know how deep the Denver Broncos skill players are, which is why I would hate to give up one of them, because the Falcons would surely ask for a skill player in return, and also have to give up a high draft pick as well.
I’m not going to get into his contract situation, but for reference, the Broncos have the cap flexibility to fit both Julio Jones and Aaron Rodgers on the team, so money isn’t an issue.
Another issue I see with this is Julio potentially affecting the ascendance of the Denver Broncos’ young core.
The Broncos boast one of the youngest offenses in the NFL, and we still haven’t seen their entire young core together for more than a couple of games.
Chemistry and continuity is an invaluable thing among NFL teams, and while I think Julio would provide great leadership and mentorship to the young guns, he would also command a lot of attention on the field, potentially taking away from valuable reps from guys like Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler.
Of course, this isn’t a bad thing, since Julio is so dang good, but he’s 32 and wouldn’t be with the Broncos for more than a couple of years.
I would ask Broncos Country this; would you rather have a 22-year-old Jerry Jeudy for the next 7-10 years or Julio Jones for the next 2-3 years?
To me, the answer is obvious.
On top of this, since the Denver Broncos simply do not need his services, other receiver-needy teams like the Tennessee Titans or San Francisco 49ers may be willing to part with more capital.
I understand that George Paton said he would be in on every deal, and I am sure he knows the asking price, but I think he has the wherewithal to not pull the trigger here.
Now, I would assume that those who make the argument for Julio to Denver cite a couple of things.
They make note of our uncertain QB situation, and how giving our QB1 another weapon makes his job easier, which is fair.
Not only that, the AFC West is filled with above-average passing offenses, so trading for Julio puts the Broncos’ skill players significantly ahead of the rest of the division.
And I suppose they could also argue that since George Paton has been rather active this off-season, he would be willing to make the trade for the right price.
All of those reasons are valid to an extent, but I go back to my arguments for not trading for him. An offense highlighted with Julio Jones, Courtland Sutton, and Jerry Jeudy would be historical talent on the field for one team.
I have written why I think the Denver Broncos could have a 1,000-yard receiving trio, and Julio Jones would greatly help that. I guess this pipedream trade is fun to think about, but it’s not realistic to me.
I would rather the Denver Broncos sign another LB, maybe a quality blocking TE and do what they can to acquire Aaron Rodgers.
Whatever happens the rest of the off-season, the Broncos are poised to be a wildly competitive team in 2021.