Julio Jones

In addition to football, Jones was a starter on the basketball team and was a standout track athlete. He was the state champion in the long jump (24–2 or 7.40m) and triple jump (47–5 or 14.52m) in both 2006 and 2007. He was named the 2006–07 Gatorade T&F Athlete of the Year in the state of Alabama. He was the state champion in the high jump (6–6 or 1.98m) during the 2007 indoor season. He was named All-county selection in 2005, 2006, and 2007. He won Mr. Alabama Track & Field athlete of the year in 2007. He also competed as a sprinter in 2008, and posted a personal-best time of 11.13 seconds in the 100-meter dash at the Class 6A Section 1 Meet, where he placed second.

Jones attended Foley High School in Foley, Alabama, where he played wide receiver and defensive end for the Lions high school football team. During his high school career, Jones quickly achieved recognition from outstanding statistics. In his junior year, he caught 75 passes for 1,306 yards and had 16 touchdowns. People referred to him as ‘Waffle House’ because he was always open. He participated in the High School Under Armour All-America Game and ran a 4.55-second 40-yard dash at the Baton Rouge Nike camp in May 2007, where he also recorded an event-best 38.6-inch (980 mm) vertical jump.

Considered a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, Jones was listed as the No. 1 wide receiver in the nation in 2008.

On February 6, 2008, Jones committed to the Alabama Crimson Tide on National Signing Day, announcing his decision live on ESPNU.

In the first of three years on the Crimson Tide, Jones quickly became an impact player and a fan favorite under head coach Nick Saban. Jones became the first true freshman wide receiver ever to start in a season opener for the Crimson Tide, as he started against the Clemson Tigers in the 2008 Chick-fil-A College Kickoff. In the game, Jones caught four passes for 28 yards and a touchdown in a 34–10 rout. In a 41–30 win over the #3 ranked Georgia Bulldogs, Jones had a breakout performance as he caught five passes for 94 yards, including a 22-yard touchdown reception from John Parker Wilson. His first 100-yard receiving game occurred in the annual rivalry game versus Tennessee, as Jones had six receptions for 103 yards en route to a 29–9 victory. However, two weeks later versus #16 LSU, Jones topped his previous performance with seven catches for 128 yards. His 23-yard reception in overtime set up a game-winning touchdown by John Parker Wilson, giving Alabama a 27–21 victory. In the 2008 SEC Championship Game, Jones caught five passes for 124 yards versus a talented Florida Gators secondary. In the first quarter, Jones caught a 64-yard pass which set up the Crimson Tide's first score of the game. However, #1 Alabama fell to #2 Florida by a score of 31–20, giving the Crimson Tide their first loss of the year. Jones finished his freshman season leading all receivers on the Crimson Tide with 58 receptions for 924 receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns.

Preceding the 2009 football season, Jones was voted to the All-SEC Coaches' Football Team (first team), one of only four players to be voted such unanimously along with Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, Tennessee safety Eric Berry, and LSU offensive lineman Ciron Black.

Alabama continued through the regular season undefeated at 12–0, working their way to a SEC Championship matchup with the #1 Florida Gators. Jones made the first catch of the game, an 18-yard catch from McElroy. The Crimson Tide won the game 32–13, earning a chance to play for the BCS National Championship in the 2010 title game against the #2 Texas Longhorns. His 23 yards receiving led the Tide in the title game, as the passing game struggled. However, the running game again took over for 205 total rushing yards and led Alabama to a 37–21 victory.

Jones ended his junior season with an Alabama record 78 catches and 1,133 yards along with seven touchdowns (fourth in school history). In addition, he had eight rushes for 135 yards and two touchdowns along with five punt returns for 44 yards and five kickoff returns for 129 yards. Jones ended his Alabama career second in career receptions (179) and yards (2,653) in school history and fourth in touchdown catches (15). He had eight career 100-yard receiving games (second in school history). Jones was a first-team All-SEC selection in 2010.

Jones started his junior season with a solid performance against San Diego State with six receptions for 93 yards and a touchdown in the 48–3 victory. Two weeks later, Jones had five receptions for 106 yards and a touchdown in a 62–13 victory over Duke. On October 9, in a conference game against #19 South Carolina, Jones had eight receptions for 118 yards and a touchdown in the Crimson Tide's 35–21 loss to the Gamecocks. On October 23, Jones torched the Tennessee Volunteers for 221 yards on 12 receptions, which were good for collegiate career highs in both, in a 41–10 victory at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. On November 6, Jones had 10 receptions for 89 yards and a touchdown in a 24–21 loss to #12 LSU at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. One week later, Jones was held to only three receptions for 41 yards in a 30–10 victory over Mississippi State but had a 56-yard rushing touchdown in the victory. In the following game, against Georgia State, he recorded his first collegiate game with two receiving touchdowns in the 63–7 victory. On November 26, in the Iron Bowl against #2 Auburn, Jones had ten receptions for 199 yards and a touchdown, but the Crimson Tide lost to the Tigers by a score of 28–27. The Crimson Tide reached a bowl game, which was Jones's final collegiate game. In the 2011 Capital One Bowl against Michigan State, Jones had three receptions for 49 yards and 36 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in the 49–7 victory.

On January 7, 2011, Jones decided to forego his senior season of college football. Instead, he chose to declare eligibility for the NFL Draft with teammates Mark Ingram, Greg McElroy, and Marcell Dareus. Jones was later invited to the "All-Star Football Challenge", a skill contest shown by ESPN on February 4. He excelled at the 2011 NFL Combine, posting the longest long jump and the third fastest 40-yard dash among wide receivers, despite having a broken bone in his foot.

The Atlanta Falcons selected Jones with the sixth overall pick of the 2011 NFL Draft. Atlanta traded five draft picks to the Cleveland Browns to move up into their spot and take Jones, giving up their 27th, 59th, and 124th picks from the 2011 Draft, and their first and fourth round picks from the 2012 Draft. He was the second wide receiver to be taken in the 2011 NFL Draft, behind only A. J. Green of the Georgia Bulldogs, who was selected fourth overall by the Cincinnati Bengals. In addition, he was one of five Alabama Crimson Tide players to be selected that year. Jones wears #11 with the Falcons.

Jones came to terms with the Atlanta Falcons on July 28, 2011, signing a four-year contract worth $16.2 million, all of which was guaranteed. His NFL debut came against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. In the 30–12 loss, he had five receptions for 71 yards. In Week 4, against the Seattle Seahawks, he had 11 receptions for 127 yards in the 30–28 victory for his first game going over the century mark. He recorded his first two NFL touchdowns on Week 9 of the 2011 season, against the Indianapolis Colts in a 31–7 victory. Jones's first touchdown was a 50-yard reception from quarterback Matt Ryan in the first quarter, and the second touchdown was an 80-yard reception from Ryan in the second quarter. After having quiet games against the New Orleans Saints and the Minnesota Vikings, Jones bounced back against the Houston Texans with four receptions for 68 yards in the 17–10 loss. Jones finished his rookie season strong by combining for 393 receiving yards and six touchdowns over the last four games of the regular season. He finished the season leading all rookies in touchdown receptions with eight, while his 54 receptions for 959 yards ranked him second among rookies in yards and touchdowns, behind A. J. Green, of the Cincinnati Bengals and third in catches behind Green and Greg Little, of the Cleveland Browns. He was named to the NFL All-Rookie Team for the 2011 season.

In the 2012 season, Jones had 79 receptions for 1,198 yards and 10 touchdowns. As a result of his successful season, he was selected for the 2013 Pro Bowl, which was his first Pro Bowl nomination. Jones and fellow wide receiver Roddy White were the first 1,000-yard receiving tandem the Falcons have had since 1998 (Tony Martin and Terance Mathis). He was ranked 26th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2012.

Jones finished the 2015 season with 1,871 yards, a Falcons franchise record and the second-highest in NFL history, behind Calvin Johnson (1,964 receiving yards in 2012 for the Detroit Lions). He had a franchise record 136 receptions, tying with Antonio Brown of the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most receptions that season and the second highest in NFL history, behind Marvin Harrison (143 receptions in 2002 with the Indianapolis Colts). Jones also became the first wide receiver in the Super Bowl era to lead the league in total yards from scrimmage. He was selected to the 2015 Pro Bowl, the third of his career, and earned first-team All-Pro honors. He was ranked by his fellow players as the eighth best player on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2016.

Jones started the 2013 season with a solid performance against the New Orleans Saints with seven receptions for 76 yards and a touchdown in the 23–17 loss. The following week, Jones had 11 receptions for 182 yards and a touchdown against St. Louis. Over the next two games, Jones continued his hot streak with a 115-yard performance against the Miami Dolphins and a 108-yard performance against the New England Patriots. However, on October 7, 2013, Jones fractured his foot in the Week 5 Monday Night Football loss to the New York Jets and would be out for the season. In that last game, he had eight receptions for 99 yards. Despite only playing five games due to injury, Jones still managed to finish 76th in receiving yards among 458 qualified players for the 2013 season.

On April 29, 2014, the Falcons accepted the fifth-year option of Jones's rookie contract, extending his obligations with the team through the 2015 season.

On August 29, 2015, the Falcons signed Jones to a 5-year, $71.5 million extension with $47 million guaranteed.

The Falcons made the playoffs in the 2016 season and had the #2 seed in the NFC. In the Divisional Round against the Seahawks, Jones had six receptions for 67 yards and a touchdown in the 36–20 victory at the Georgia Dome. In the NFC Championship against the Green Bay Packers, Jones had nine receptions for 180 yards and two touchdowns in the 44–21 victory. During Super Bowl LI against the New England Patriots, Jones had four receptions for 87 receiving yards on only four targets as the Falcons lost in overtime by a score of 34–28. Late in the game, with the Falcons leading 28–20, Jones recorded a spectacular catch from Ryan to put the Falcons on the Patriots 22-yard line. However, a sack and a holding penalty caused the Falcons to lose field position and move out of field goal range.

On September 10, 2017, in the season opener against the Chicago Bears, Jones started the season with four receptions for 66 yards in the 23–17 victory. In Week 2, in the 34–23 victory over the Green Bay Packers, he had five receptions for 108 yards in the first game in the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium. In Week 7, in a loss to the New England Patriots in a Super Bowl LI rematch, Jones recorded his first receiving touchdown of the 2017 season, a one-yard reception from Ryan. During Week 12 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jones had a monstrous performance with 12 receptions for 253 receiving yards and two touchdowns, of which one thrown from fellow receiver Mohamed Sanu, as the Falcons won 34–20. His performance in Week 12 earned him NFC Offensive Player of the Week. Jones became the first player in NFL history with three games with at least 250 receiving yards and the tenth to record three games with at least 200. On December 19, 2017, Jones was named to his fifth Pro Bowl. In the Week 17 regular season finale against the New Orleans Saints, he had seven receptions for 149 yards in the 23–13 loss.

In the season-opener against the defending Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, Jones recorded 10 receptions for 169 yards to go with an 11-yard rush in the 12–18 loss. In the loss, Jones became the first player in franchise history to record 40 games with at least 100 receiving yards, breaking his tie with Roddy White. In Week 4, he recorded nine receptions for 173 receiving yards in the 37–36 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. In Week 6, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he had 10 receptions for 144 yards in the 34–29 victory. In Week 9 against the Washington Redskins, Jones caught seven passes for 121 yards and his first receiving touchdown of the season. In Week 10, against the Cleveland Browns, Jones recorded seven receptions for 107 yards and a touchdown. In that game, Jones became the fastest player in NFL history to reach 10,000 career receiving yards, accomplishing the feat in 104 games, beating out Calvin Johnson who took 115 games. In the following game, against the Dallas Cowboys, he had six receptions for 118 yards and a touchdown in the loss. In Week 12, against the New Orleans Saints on Thanksgiving, he had 11 receptions for 147 yards in the 31–17 loss. In Week 14, against the Green Bay Packers, he had eight receptions for 106 yards and two touchdowns. Jones eclipsed 1,400 yards and became the first player in NFL history to register five consecutive seasons with at least 1,400 yards. In Week 17, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he had 138 yards and a touchdown in the 34–32 win. On December 18, 2018, Jones was named to his sixth Pro Bowl, which he declined due to injury.

On September 7, 2019, Jones signed a three-year, $66 million extension with $64 million guaranteed, making him the highest paid wide receiver in the league.