The 5 Best Trade Destinations For Julio Jones

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - NOVEMBER 08: Julio Jones #11 of the Atlanta Falcons runs with the ball during the first half against the Denver Broncos at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on November 08, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

The Deal: WR Donovan Peoples-Jones, 2022 second and fourth-round draft pick

After two decades of struggle for the entire organization, seeing the Cleveland Browns leverage their assets to go all-in for a Super Bowl would be a marvelous thing. The Browns have quickly developed a deep roster with cap flexibility. Overall, they’re solid, but adding Julio Jones to this offense would bring their upside to another level.

The current iteration of the Browns’ offense has an above-average quarterback in Baker Mayfield, one star receiver in Odell Beckham Jr., and a star running back in Nick Chubb. The rest of their pieces are role players who don’t impact the game in a massive way. 

Trading second-year receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones and two 2022 draft picks wouldn’t hurt the Browns at all this year. Their 2022 cap sheet could fit Jones without much issue, as key pieces like Myles Garrett, Jack Conklin, and John Johnson can be restructured with ease. The flexibility to spend in free agency would be gone, but the Browns can skirt the cap and have a premier contender.

The one possible sacrifice in 2021 would be Jarvis Landry. Trading the fan favorite after June 1 would save the team $13.2 million in cap, and the addition of the much more impactful and talented Jones would be well worth the loss. The Browns’ 2022 cap situation would benefit from this move, although the Browns could justify having an insane three-headed beast with Jones, Beckham, and Landry if they wanted to spend over $53 million this year at the position.

The Deal: WR Mike Williams and 2022 third-round pick

Another upstart AFC team with a young quarterback who could use an upgrade at receiver are the Chargers. Los Angeles has been snake-bitten by injuries despite being a darkhorse contender seemingly for the last decade. But a new regime and face of the franchise (Justin Herbert) will hopefully bring change. They possess a healthy cap situation and deep roster.

The argument for adding Julio Jones isn’t hard. The Chargers rebuilt the offensive line, and have Keenan Allen and Austin Ekeler in place as reliable playmakers. Fifth-year receiver Mike Williams is an awesome vertical threat, but has a limited role and failed to really catch on with Herbert in 2020. 

Swapping Williams and a pick for Julio makes too much sense for the Chargers. They get more dynamic immediately and avoid paying Williams a big extension in 2022 or losing him for a compensatory pick in 2023. The Chargers are also in a unique situation as Julio’s large cap number would do little as far as affecting upcoming extensions because they’re mostly set with veteran deals.

The Falcons may prefer to get a veteran receiver back without a large long-term contract attached. A receiving corps of Calvin Ridley, Kyle Pitts, Williams, and Russell Gage would still be a good one for Matt Ryan to work with.

The Deal: WR Zach Pascal, 2022 conditional second-round pick, 2023 third-round pick

We can assume the Colts would make the playoffs in 2021 if both Carson Wentz and Julio Jones are healthy. Because of this, the Colts’ first-round pick would convey to Philadelphia for Wentz, leaving the Colts with a second-rounder to send to Atlanta. The Colts should leap on that possibility if given the chance.

The Colts failed to address several key positions despite being flush with cap space this offseason. They’re saving it for extensions, but are missing their window to be as competitive as possible in the meantime. This receiver room needs a reliable star to elevate the offense.

Jones would make everything easier for Parris Campbell, Michael Pittman Jr., and TY Hilton. The Colts could spread the field with their terrific speed and give Wentz the best group of talent he’s worked with yet. Failing to make such an assertive move after hoarding cap and assets for years would top off a disappointing off-season overall. 

The Deal: Edge Joshua Kaindoh, WR Mecole Hardman, 2022 second-round pick

Andy Reid and Brett Veach worked some magic with their offensive line rebuild in just one off-season. They still have the cap room and assets to further invest into Patrick Mahomes as well. With just one move we could see potentially the best offense of all time assembled.

Julio Jones and Tyreek Hill would be the two most freakish receivers paired together in decades, if ever. Then factor in Travis Kelce, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, and Cornell Powell and there’s not a defense in the league with the ability to account for so much firepower. But the Chiefs would need to go all-in with their cap to make it happen.

Restructuring Frank Clark and Kelce clears space for Jones this year. Smart extensions with low cap hits in Year 1 for both Hill and Tyrann Mathieu, along with a few other tweaks, makes the Chiefs cap-compliant in 2022. The extra work would be well worth the payoff as the Chiefs wreak havoc on every defense they’ll face.  

The Deal: WR Deebo Samuel, RB Jeff Wilson, 2022 fourth-round pick, 2023 second-round pick

We already saw the 49ers strike when they traded up to snag Trey Lance at No. 3. Now they can round out the offense by adding a true star in Julio Jones. Imagine the terror defensive coordinators will have trying to gameplan for Lance and Jones in Kyle Shanahan’s schemes. 

Shanahan’s ability to create advantageous passing lanes and mismatches has paid off well with George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk, and a host of other players throughout the years. But Shanahan’s yet to have a Hall of Fame receiver in his system. He’ll never have a better chance than right now to get one at a reasonable price.

No offense in the league would match the pure athleticism Lance, Jones, Aiyuk, Kittle, and Trey Sermon have. We’ve rarely seen that type of dynamic ability together, let alone with a great offensive line and elite scheme. Shanahan could maximize Jones’ remaining years as well as any coach on this list.