Julio Jones entered the NFL record books on Sunday, November 11, when he snagged a 30-yard pass from quarterback Matt Ryan to give him 10,000 receiving yards on his career. Seeing how Jones became the 48th player to join the 10K yards club with the reception, it is easy to downplay the significance of the accomplishment. That is until one considers that he surpassed the mark in only 104 games.
Nick Shook of Around The NFL reports that with the 107 yards Jones amassed on seven receptions in the Falcons’ 28-16 loss to the Browns, he became the fastest player to reach 10,000 yards since Calvin “Megatron” Johnson did it in his 115th game back in 2014. As ESPN notes in its coverage of Jones’ feat, other players who’ve come along have been close to eclipsing the milestone in a briefer span of time – as Antonio Brown did when he came up just short by meeting the mark in his 116th game – but in putting the record behind him 11 games sooner than Johnson did, nobody had ever threatened to distinguish themselves by as wide a margin as Jones has.
Heading into Week 10 action, Jones had 9,987 yards on 645 receptions. He now has 10,094 yards through his eighth season in the league and trails DeSean Jackson, who holds down the 46th spot with 10,113. The 29-year-old Jones continues to play at an elite level that Jackson has long declined from competing at, so he should move right past the Buccaneers wideout.
In fact, it is expected that he’ll shoot up the list pretty quickly and can quite possibly breeze past such names as Andre Rison, Santana Moss, and Keyshawn Johnson this season. But, it is not likely that Jones will topple Atlanta Falcons receiving yards leader Roddy White until he is able to push his total beyond White’s 10,863 sometime next season.
. @JulioJones_11 becomes the fastest player in NFL history to reach 10k receiving yards… It took him 104 games!
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?: FOX #InBrotherhood https://t.co/yE7NVEYkub
— NFL (@NFL) November 11, 2018
#JulioJones Becomes Fastest WR in #NFL History to Reach 10,000 Yards: #AtlantaFalcons wide receiver #JulioJones became the fastest wide receiver in #NFL history to eclipse 10,000 career receiving yards with a 30-yard gain in the… https://t.co/vdGCaFd8Qm https://t.co/BlWPPyXa6e pic.twitter.com/G9Uoa9RB4q
— StubOrder.com ?? (@StubOrder) November 11, 2018
What’s more, being the quickest guy to 10,000 is one thing. Being the all-time receiving yards king is quite another. With Jerry Rice well established atop the list with 22,895 yards on 1,549 catches, and tomorrow never promised in such a physical game, it will be a while before analysts begin to seriously visit a conversation on Jones’ prospects of claiming the throne. But, for the time being, at least, nobody can ever claim to have gotten a better head start on it.
Pro Football Reference cites Jones as having played 21 seasons in the league. If Jones can remain healthy, at the pace he’s been producing up until this point, he’d be able to catch up to Rice in his 17th year, give or take. And if he doesn’t, Jones would still have about four years to work with in getting there in a shorter time than his predecessor did, should he still be around to press for it.