Julio Jones trade another risky move by Titans GM Jon Robinson

The Tennessee Titans have been no stranger to high-risk, high-reward moves in recent years. General manager Jon Robinson has sort of made that his “thing” and the Julio Jones trade is the latest example.

Since coming to the Titans in 2016, Robinson has made plenty of shrewd moves like getting Derrick Henry in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft (his first draft as Titans GM) as well as trading a fourth- and seventh-round pick to the Miami Dolphins for quarterback Ryan Tannehill and a sixth-round pick.

All things considered, those moves represent low-risk, high-reward for a general manager. The Titans using a first-round pick in 2019 on Jeffery Simmons who had recently torn his ACL? Taking a character risk in Isaiah Wilson in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft? Taking a talented corner with back issues in 2021 first-round pick Caleb Farley?

It’s clear that Robinson is marching to the beat of his own drum, and the Julio Jones trade is yet another example of that.

Jones has been one of the best players in the NFL over the last decade. Since coming into the NFL as a first-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft where the Falcons traded a boatload to move up and get him, Jones has been nothing short of a game-changing weapon at receiver.

Entering his age 32 season, however, was he worth the price of second-and fourth-round draft choices?

Time will tell that tale.

For now, that’s a high price for the Titans to pay but it’s Julio Jones we’re talking about.

Jones still averaged over 15 yards per reception last season despite playing in just nine games and catching 51 passes, the lowest total he’s had since he caught just 41 passes in 2013 when he played only five games.

Although he’s missed some time here or there, it would not be fair to say that Julio Jones is an injury risk for the Titans based on what we’ve seen from him, but the 2020 season where he dealt with hamstring issues certainly makes you wonder.

The Titans don’t believe they are getting anything less than the best version of Julio Jones, and perhaps a change of scenery will be a boost to him mentally and physically.

Jones was dominant at times in the 2020 season when he was fully healthy, and there’s reason to believe he’s not slowing down all that much despite being into his 30s.

The term “risky” typically implies that the risk is not worthwhile, but that is not the case for the Titans with Julio Jones. Not having those second and fourth-round picks in the next two offseasons could definitely hurt, there’s no question about it, but the risk/reward of getting a healthy Julio Jones could make that seem like a significant discount.

Jon Robinson is willing to bet on Jones being himself and even if he gets a couple of seasons of that, he’s going to look like he got a bargain here.