Julio Jones: Best Fantasy WR in 2015?

Julio Jones is no stranger to posting up massive stats while being the obvious go-to option in Atlanta. Could he be in store for a massive 2015 season?

Fantasy football has skyrocketed over the past few seasons, with FanDuel and DraftKings commercials occurring every five minutes during football games. Fantasy football consumes nearly every football fan’s Sunday (including Thursday and Monday).

For the 2015-2016 season, the top two wide receivers drafted (per ESPN) were Antonio Brown and Odell Beckham Jr.; however, one wide receiver being somewhat overlooked is Atlanta Falcon’s superstar Julio Jones. Preseason drafts ranked him as the number 18 player in the NFL and the fourth or fifth wide receiver in the league.

Last season Jones put up 1,593 receiving yards, but he finished the season with a pedestrian touchdown total of only six. Moreover, Julio Jones was not healthy the whole season and had to miss one game; additionally, he was not at full strength for a few of the games he did play in.

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During the preseason this year, Jones signed a massive 5-year, $71.25 million extension with the Falcons, becoming the third receiver this offseason to get a 5-year $70+ million deal (Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas). Julio Jones found himself ranked above Detroit Wide Receiver and former Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets’ standout Calvin Johnson for the first time in his career on most fantasy sites. However, big contracts come with big expectations, but do not expect Julio Jones to regress this season and beyond.

Jones had limited action this preseason, mainly to conserve his health for the regular season, especially with fellow receiver Roddy White‘s health being a concern over the past couple seasons. In the 2014-2015 season, Julio Jones finished third in the NFL with 164 targets, trailing only Demaryius Thomas and Antonio Brown.

Antonio Brown finished the season as the number one wide receiver, accumulating 129 receptions on 182 targets; moreover, he amassed 1,698 yards with 13 touchdowns. Although he put up massive stats, expect Jones to contend with Brown this season.

Gauging Julio Jones’ opening game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Jones is in for a massive season. It is no secret that Jones is Matt Ryan‘s favorite target, and with a healthy Roddy White to take some of the heat away from Jones, Julio should make an even larger contribution to the team.

Dan Quinn plans to use two-wide receiver sets regularly this season, showing that Jones will be on the field for 100 percent of the snaps game-in, game-out. In the first game of the 2015-2016 season, Julio Jones saw 11 targets, hauling in nine of them for 141 yards and two touchdowns. Julio Jones is no newcomer to posting massive receiver yard totals.

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