Fantasy Football 2012: Why Julio Jones Will Be a Stud This Season

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones made a huge splash in his rookie NFL season. After battling injuries all season long, he still ended up with 959 yards and eight touchdowns, the second-most productive rookie behind Bengals receiver AJ Green.

Jones enters his sophomore season with a different offensive coordinator that last season, but with the same offensive weapons. Opponents can't double-team him or any of the Falcons' threats, because another player is more than capable of shredding defenses. 

Jones will still be the Falcons' second receiver behind Roddy White, but will be an elite fantasy option. Here are the major reasons why Jones will be a great draft pick next year. 

Big-Play Potential 

The biggest reason why Julio Jones will reward fantasy owners in 2012 is his big-play ability. 

Despite quarterback Matt Ryan content with throwing primarily short and intermediate routes, Julio Jones caught defenses napping and burned them deep.

Jones caught seven passes of 40 yards or more, which ranked him fourth in the NFL last season. 

Jones also had five 100-yard games despite missing three games. He averaged 17.8 yards per catch last season, fifth in the NFL among players with at least 40 catches.

It's clear Jones has a knack for making long-yardage plays, and despite playing opposite the most-targeted receiver in the NFL, Jones still receives enough targets to produce an elite fantasy season. 

Size Poses Matchup Problems

Julio Jones came on strong late last season hauling in eight touchdowns — six in the last four games.

Jones' size (6'3" 220 pounds) clearly causes a matchup problem in the red zone. Corners in the NFL are perhaps the smallest position in the league, and Jones' size advantage allows him to outfight an undersized corner in one-on-one football. 

Ryan has the ability to throw a jump ball to either White or Jones and be confident one of the two will come down with the ball. 

New Offensive Coordinator 

The Falcons' previous offensive coordinator, Mike Mularkey, left the Falcons to take a head coaching position with Jacksonville. 

The offense was horrific in Jacksonville, but the Jaguars forced an incompetent rookie quarterback into duty after releasing quarterback David Garrard. In addition, the wide receivers in Jacksonville are among the worst in the league. Still, tailback Maurice Jones-Drew led the league in rushing. 

Koetter now possesses a plethora of offensive talent that he never had in Jacksonville. Koetter's biggest strength is the vertical passing game, according to head coach Mike Smith. 

Smith said, "(The) vertical passing game is probably the thing that he is most strong in and it's something that we want to work on. We feel like that we want to get the ball down the field a little bit more with our two wide receivers and our tight end. Dirk has brought in a new perspective."

The new offensive philosophy means that Ryan will be taking more chances down the field in the upcoming year, meaning more big-play opportunities for Jones.