If Calvin Ridley is able to play on Sunday against the Denver Broncos, three former Alabama star wide receivers will all be playing on the same field: Julio Jones, Jerry Jeudy and Ridley.
Jones, the oldest of the group, has mentored both Ridley and Jeudy since they left Tuscaloosa. In the offseason, Jones often trains at Alabama and that's where he met Jeudy. During his three seasons at Alabama, Jeudy had 159 catches for 2,742 yards and 26 touchdwons.
Jeudy was the Broncos' first-round pick in this year's draft and has 23 catches for 359 yards so far on the year. He's certainly earned the respect of Jones who is looking forward to competing with Jeudy for years to come.
"Amazing receiver … his ability to get in and out of routes," Jones said. "He has all the intangibles to be a great receiver. He's a rookie right now, he has to keep working and keep building.
*Don't ask about individual stats…
*
Jones has two touchdowns this season, five less than the six other receivers who all are tied for a league-leading seven scores. But as Jones has often stated, he's not concerned about his individual stats, he only cares about wins and losses.
"I want to win games," Jones said. "As long as we win, I don't care who's scoring the touchdown. I'm not a stat guy, I don't play the game [saying] I want to score a touchdown. I'm not a selfish player in that sense."
As the Falcons look to improve in the red zone as a team this week, maybe it'll be Jones who gets this unit scoring at the level they know they're capable of doing.
