Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones is closing in on Roddy White’s franchise record for receiving yards. Jones needs just 381 yards to overtake his former teammate for top spot. Jones is still a long way back from the NFL’s all-time record held by Jerry Rice, but White believes the Falcons star can do it.
“The pace that he's at right now, he can not only be the all-time leading receiver in Falcons history, to me he has enough talent to be the all-time leading receiver in the NFL,” White said of Jones per Vaughn McClure of ESPN. “That's if he plays long enough.”
When told about White’s bold statement, Jones was pretty bemused and seemed skeptical he would match Rice’s longevity.
“I don't know what's wrong with Roddy, man,” Jones said. “Jerry played, what, 20 years? You know what I'm saying? Jerry played a long time.”
Jones, who has 10,483 yards through 108 games, still isn’t even halfway toward Rice’s all-time mark of 22,895 yards. However, Jones does possess the highest per-game average for receiving yards in league history at 97.1. That would mean the 29-year-old Jones could catch Rice if he’s able to keep up that impressive rate for eight more seasons.
Of course, the almost inevitable decline of age, not to mention possible injuries, will likely hit Jones at some point in the next few years.
It'll take a monumental effort for Jones to even get close to Rice's record. But Jones claims he’s not concerned about numbers and records and just wants to win, so he won't be losing sleep worrying about catching Rice.
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