Julio Jones would need a final seven games that were much like his first three in order to break the receiving yardage record. (Getty)
Can Falcons’ Julio Jones Set Single-Season Record?
While Devonta Freeman has been a top-gun in many fantasy leagues this year, Julio Jones was the first Falcons player to get off to a historic start in 2015. While he has cooled, he is still within reach of Calvin Johnson’s impressive 2012 season in which he set the record for single-season receiving yards with 1,964.
So what will it take to eclipse Megatron atop the NFL record books? Let’s take a look.
Before the Falcons hit their recent skid, they were among the NFL’s unbeaten teams through five games, and Julio Jones was on pace to shatter Johnson’s yardage record. After three games in which Jones had recorded 34 catches for 440 yards, he was on track to get to 2,346 yards after the full slate.
Since that time, Atlanta and Jones have come back to Earth. Jones recorded under 100 yards receiving in each of the next four games, before exploding in the Falcons’ last two games, both losses, for 162 and 137 yards. The big days have put him back in the discussion for the all-time record.
Here are Jones’ up-to-date numbers heading into Week 11, and what he’ll have to do to pass Johnson, courtesy of ESPN:
Receptions: 80
Yards: 1,029
Yards per game: 114.3
On pace for: 1,829 yards
Yards per game needed to break Johnson’s record: 133.7
Yards needed to reach 1,965: 936
So, Jones has seven games to perform roughly as he did over his first three and break the all-time record.