Matt Ryan

Pat Yasinskas of ESPN.com:

If I had to pick just one player who has stood out most during my training camp tour so far, Atlanta’s Julio Jones would be the easy choice.

In each of the practices, I saw the second-year receiver make several spectacular plays. Let’s keep in mind that he was going up against some big-name cornerbacks in Brent Grimes, Dunta Robinson and Asante Samuel. On at least two plays, I saw Jones use athleticism to beat Grimes, who many Falcons will point to when you ask them to name their most athletic player.

Jones had a full offseason this time around, and wide receiver is a position where there often is strong improvement from the first year to the second. Throw in the fact that Jones didn’t have any injuries to deal with during the offseason, and we might have the reasons why he’s playing so well in camp.

Jones finished WR18 last season, but he missed four games, so his per game average was the 5th-highest in the league. His FP/target (1.53) ranked #9 in 2011 amongst WRs with at least 30 targets, but he should see an increase in total targets provided he can stay on the field. It also doesn't hurt that he has had a full offseason to work with Matt Ryan or that the Falcons are moving towards a more pass-happy offensive attack.