The Falcons took a big risk when they traded up 21 spots to draft wide receiver Julio Jones. Some thought the trade was great because the Falcons needed a big, fast wide receiver who can get down the field and make big plays. An extra weapon for Matt Ryan and someone who could take some of the attention off of Roddy White.
Others thought it wasn’t such a good idea because of what the Falcons gave up to get Jones, second and fourth round picks this year and first and fourth round picks in 2012 to Cleveland. One of those people was Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
For those who don’t know, before joining the Falcons, general manager Thomas Dimitroff was the Director of College Scouting for the Patriots. So he still has a good relationship with Belichick and the Patriots organization and Dimitroff asked Belichick “as a friend” about the trade.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has the details:
In the book, “War Room: The Legacy of Bill Belichick and the Art of Building the Perfect Team” [Michael] Holley writes about Belichick, Kansas City’s Scott Pioli and Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff thoughts on building that perfect team.
A couple of things in the review caught my attention.
1. After Dimitroff called Belichick “as a friend,” the mentor advised him not to make the Julio Jones trade. He felt the Falcons should have stayed at No. 27 and picked Pittsburgh’s Jonathan Baldwin. The deal was too pricey for Belichick’s blood.
In my opinion I’m glad Dimitroff didn’t listen to Belichick. Jonathan Baldwin is a pretty good wide receiver but he is no Julio Jones. Time will tell if the trade was really worth it but so far so good to me. Jones has 25 catches for 358 receiving yards and he is third in the league among rookies in catches and yards receiving.
Once he and Ryan get enough time to get acclimated with each other and build that quarterback-wide receiver relationship I think Jones will be one of the best in league in the coming years.