By all accounts, Falcons WR Julio Jones is having a great camp.
"Adding Julio will make it a lot easier on us," Roddy White said. "You can't double everybody. In two games, the Saints doubled me and Tony and the other guy had to make plays, and couldn't make them. I think this year we have a guy who can make them. Not only make them, but make them explosive plays. Instead of getting 10 yards, he can get 30- or 40-yard gains."
Jones came to Atlanta during the lockout to spend time with Matt Ryan even though Jones didn't have a contract and was putting himself at risk of injury. The two developed a rapport you can see on the field. They also get together now before practice and throw some routes.
"He was going to be my quarterback, the guy throwing me the ball, and I just wanted to get the timing down," Jones said. "The time me and him had together to get on our timing was going to be short. The sooner I got together with him, the better."
"He's so explosive, so big, fast and strong," White said. "And he's done a great job picking up the offense. He does a lot of things naturally. You don't have to teach guys like that to play football. You just let them go out there and do their thing. They get acclimated real fast and they go."
If the Falcons follow through with their intention to make the offense more pass-oriented, then Jones could very well be the top rookie WR in 2011. With White on the other side and the still-dangerous Tony Gonzalez roaming the middle, Jones will have a chance to make plays. Also, the now-healthy Harry Douglas could be a sleeper in three-WR sets.
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