After 13 NFL seasons that add up to a Pro Football Hall of Fame resume, Julio Jones called it a career Friday. When that journey began, the Atlanta Falcons traded up from the No. 27 pick to the No. 6 pick of the 2011 NFL Draft, at a franchise-mortgaging price of two first-round picks, a second-rounder, and two fourth-rounders, to take Jones.
And never regretted it for a day.
Over 10 seasons in Atlanta, he averaged more than 1,000 receiving yards per year, went to seven Pro Bowls, and led the beleaguered franchise to just its second Super Bowl appearance in 59 seasons. And yet, it can't be said that he made a greater impact as a pro than he did for Alabama football.
He was the undisputed gem of former coach Nick Saban's fabled 2008 signing class, which went on to anchor multiple national championships. That's a mouthful, considering that class included four other future first-round draft picks: Mark Ingram, Mark Barron, Dont'a Hightower and Marcell Dareus. But while all those players were highly productive on the field, none of them helped Saban transform the program's culture more than Jones did.
Saban plucked the five-star prospect, a true mega-talent, right out of a part of the state that had previously been under Auburn recruiting control. And upon arrival as a freshman, his work ethic and wholesale commitment to the sport meshed perfectly with what Saban needed in an example-setting leader. It was senior-level maturity right from his first college practice.
In short, Jones was the apex of Saban's program turnaround in 2008.
Over three seasons with the Crimson Tide, including a 2009 national title, Jones changed how the wide receiver spot at
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