Seahawks Person of Interest: Falcons WR Julio Jones

Vitals

• Position: WR
• Height: 6-3
• Weight: 220
• Age: 27
• Experience: Sixth season

The storyline

Pete Carroll first saw Julio Jones at a parking lot in Foley, Ala.

This was almost 10 years ago, back when Carroll was coaching USC and Jones was one of the most touted high-school football players in the country. Carroll came calling to see if USC could start recruiting Jones, who had already indicated he was heading to Alabama.

“We had a chance to see him in like the parking lot,” Carroll said, “and some people from the school grabbed him and took him into the back room, and before you knew it I think there was an Alabama coach on the way to the campus and we couldn’t get near the guy at the time.”

The point of that story: “He’s been a great player for a long time,” Carroll said. “He came out as a great one, and he’s just got marvelous talents.”

Two weeks ago, Jones caught 12 passes for 300 yards against Carolina. It was the most receiving yards any NFL player had in a game since 2013 and was only 36 off the NFL record set by Willie “Flipper” Anderson in 1989.

Jones led the league in receiving yards last season with 1,871, the second-biggest single-season total in NFL history.

The statement

Receivers get reputations as divas. Guys who love attention more than they like to block.

Jones is an absolute powerhouse of a player.

“He’s a workhorse,” Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman said. “Whether it’s a run play, a pass play, he’s going to work. He’s going to work hard.”

The guy is big enough the Falcons will call upon him to block a linebacker between the tackles on a running play. And while Jones has never been known as the receiver with the softest hands, there’s no question about his ability to stretch the field. He has 10 catches of 20 or more yards this season, most of any player in the league.

“He’s really fast when he gets going downfield,” Carroll said, “and he’s a big playmaker.”

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