Julio to Tampa - Brady Gets Another Weapon
Image Courtesy of PFF
The rich get richer.
Tom Brady’s newest target is a familiar face to NFL fans, star receiver Julio Jones. The star receiver has signed a one year deal with the Brady led Buccaneers, and is ready to roll. Although both in the twilight eras of their careers, how will this impact the league?
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Last season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers finished their season in the divisional round of the playoffs in a loss to the eventual champion Rams. Tom Brady, who put up MVP-like numbers, shocked the world with a 40-day retirement return to the NFL. As he enters his 23rd season at the ripe age of 44, he looks to go for one last Super Bowl run. And the addition of veteran and star receiver Julio Jones will greatly help this goal.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are already stacked on offense, with star talent receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin standing out. But the loss of tight end Rob Gronkowski left a gap which will be hard to fill. Although they do have other tight ends, the addition of Jones’ 6-foot-3-inch, 220 pound, frame will definitely help as a bigger target.
With that being said, what exactly will Julio Jones be bringing to an already star-studded Tampa Bay Bucs team? Let’s take a look.
The seven-time pro bowler joins a squad already filled with a lot of talent, but joins as one of the greatest to ever play his position, respectively. Julio Jones has made a name for himself as one of the best receivers of the 21st century. His long strides and tough catches have set him apart from others throughout his career, especially during his time with the Atlanta Falcons. Jones has been a scary target for any team to face, and even with his age and injuries catching up to him, still is very effective in any offensive scheme. Julio Jones has posted 879 catches for more than 13,000 receiving yards and more than 80 touchdowns throughout his highlight filled career, and comes as a new target for Tom Brady’s arm.
Last season, Jones struggled with injury, but still managed to post 31 receptions for 434 yards, and a score. His time with the Tennessee Titans was short lived, but he is still recognized and respected as being one of the league’s best receivers.
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Brady’s Biggest Tampa Achievement: Recruitment
Via PSF’s Robert Szolosi
Brady went to Tampa with one goal, win a Super Bowl, but not by doing it alone. He has been recruiting ever since he stepped foot in Florida from bringing back Rob Gronkowski, having a receiving back in Leonard Fournette and this year's two major recruiting hits in Russell Gage and Julio Jones. Brady has always been known for helping build receivers’ careers such as Julian Edelman, revitalizing Randy Moss’ career, as well as Chris Hogan and many more. But in the final year of Brady's time in New England it was pretty clear that the one thing frustrating him more than anything else was that he couldn't trust his receiving core.
This was also one of the primary reasons the Patriots lost in the 2019 Wild Card Game to The Tennessee Titans although they had the best receiver statistically being running back James White with five receptions for 62 yards. This game itself was a turning point for Brady and seems to be apart of Brady's interest in Tampa as they already had two established receivers in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.
With Julio Jones coming into the fold this year it's clear that Brady knows that his success is not just on the field, but perhaps more so the recruiting work he does off the field which helps him win as well.
This recruitment has definitely paid off. With a healthy Jones on the roster and ready to go, how far will the Bucs make it and how much of an impact will this addition make? Many are pulling comparisons to Brady’s addition of star wide receiver Randy Moss in 2007. Moss was coming off a middle-of-the-pack season, and was brought in to New England to play with Brady, which completely revived his career as he posted a record breaking 23 touchdowns.
Could this be the case for Julio Jones? I think so, if healthy. Although he will have to share the workload and targets with other big name receivers, I think he will still stand out to an extent just based off his reputation and ability when healthy. Brady will definitely feed him the ball and will find that connection more and more as the season progresses.
