By: Reese Nasser

It has finally happened, The Atlanta Falcons have traded wide receiver Julio Jones to the Tennessee Titans. The seven-time pro bowler cost the Titans a second round selection in 2022 and a fourth rounder in 2023. 

Julio will now be added to a Titans team that went 11-5 last season and finished first in the AFC South. He will also be joining an offense that already has a rising star in wide receiver A.J. Brown and an all-time running back in Derrick Henry. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill has also found his spot in the NFL with the Titans and has begun to look like a top-tier QB.

The duo of Brown and Henry combined for 3,216 yards from scrimmage last season. Brown hauled in 1,075 yards and 11 touchdowns over 14 games last season. Henry had one of the greatest rushing performances ever with 17 rushing touchdowns and over 2,000 rushing yards. 

Julio appeared in just nine games last season but proved to still be a threat and a legitimate number one receiver. In those nine games, he caught three touchdown passes and had 771 receiving yards on just 51 receptions. 

If Julio can return to the form that he was in during the 2019 season this Titans offense can be a juggernaut and one of the best, if not the best, offense in the league. Here’s what the addition of Julio can do for this Titans offense. 

A.J. Brown Potential

A.J. Brown has proven to be a top talent in the NFL since his rookie season in 2019. After a fantastic season stat wise in his first year, Brown improved in nearly every way during his second season. His 11 touchdown receptions ranked tied for fifth in the NFL. Brown grabbed 70 receptions last season while being the main receiving threat. He should see an increase in both receptions and touchdowns with Julio playing alongside him.

Julio, throughout his entire career, has been the focal point on offense and receives the bulk of the attention. Brown has received this sort of treatment during his time in Tennessee. With both players being legitimate number one receivers, defenses will be forced to figure out how to defend them. On any given play, one of the two should be able to make a big play.

With apparent claims that Julio wanted to play with a quarterback that can push the ball down field, he has gotten that with Tannehill. 

Tannehill has proven that he can push the ball down the field and both Julio and Brown have shown that they can make plays down the field. Julio will allow for the offense to stretch the field even more. With how accurate Tannehill is when throwing the deep ball, both Julio and Brown should produce even more big plays down the field. 

More Running Room

Titans running back Derrick Henry became just the seventh rusher in NFL history to surpass 2,000 rushing yards in a season. He has crafted an all-time career up to this point. There came a point over the course of last season where teams were able to stack the defensive box due to a lack of offensive threats on the Titans. That won’t be possible now with both Julio and Brown on either side of the field. A box of seven or eight defenders with only three to four players in the secondary will be shredded by this offense. 

While it is unlikely that Henry will reach the sought after 2,000 yards rushing again, he will most definitely benefit from the addition of Julio. The added talent on offense will not only take carries off of Henry but will also give him more opportunities to make plays. The field will undoubtedly be stretched and Henry will flourish off of the space that defines will be forced to give him. 

The NFL should be put on notice with this trade. With the addition of Julio, the Titans are true threats to bring a super bowl to Tennessee. This revamped offense with a completely rebuilt defense could be a terror for opposing teams. The team will look much different than what we saw at season end. Improvements have been made throughout the roster. Expect every skill player on the offensive side of the ball to see improvements in some aspect of their game. A.J. Brown said it best. 

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Chris Johnson, the legendary Tennessee Titans running back that broke the 40-yard dash record at the NFL combine (4.24) in 2008, hung up his cleats in 2017 as an Arizona Cardinal. The RB referred to as CJ2K put together one of the best RB careers in NFL history.

Johnson may not have tried to keep a career pace with Tom Brady, unlike Frank Gore, but he put together some of the most electric single-season performances in NFL history. Johnson shocked the football world with 2006 rushing yards in 2009 while registering 503 receiving yards in the season. Johnson became one of seven RBs ever to eclipse 2k rushing yards in a single season. His total yard count of 2,509 yards was also a record for most total yards in a season.

CJ2K wasn’t just a ball carrier with blazing speed, but he was very reliable & durable. Johnson didn’t miss one game from 2009-2013. That’s very impressive for a player that averaged 1,374 rushing yards and roughly eight rushing touchdowns a season during that span.

The elite RBs in today’s league has struggled more to maintain excellence and the ability to stay on the football field. Alvin Kamara has missed four games in four seasons, Saquon Barkley and Christian McCaffrey are coming off season-ending injuries, and Adrian Peterson has never had a three-year span without missing a game. The King himself, Derrick Henry, who became the seventh RB to run for 2,000+ yards in a single season last year (also for TENN), missed a game last year.

Johnson didn’t quite hold his reputation as a home run hitter at RB and lead bell cow after leaving the Titans. The monster Titan RB signed with the New York Jets in 2014 and didn’t find continued career success. For the first time in his career, he didn’t have a 1,000 yard rushing season (663 yards). He also notched a mere one touchdown on the ground. It wouldn’t be the first time that a Hall of Fame-caliber RB hits a wall in MetLife stadium. Ladainian Tomlinson played his last season in the league as a Jet, where he unveiled 280 rushing yards. The Big Apple just might be where elite RBs allow their elite production to come to an end.

CJ2K and the legendary dual-threat QB, Michael Vick held down the Jets huddle in 2014. The aging duo led the Jets to a disappointing 4-12 record. If the future HOF QB-RB duo performed together a couple of years prior, they would undoubtedly go down as the most efficient rushing offense in NFL history.

After his one-year stint in New York, Johnson played two more years in an Arizona Cardinals uniform. His production took a bump from 2014 to 2015, where he clocked 814 rushing yards. The legendary RB then struggled to get involved, as he surfaced in four games in 2016 and four matchups in 2017. On April 24th, 2019, Chris Johnson announced his retirement as a Tennessee Titan. It was a quiet finish to a career for a player that holds a nickname for prolific magic done in one season: CJ2K

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