2011 NFL Draft: WR Julio Jones Will Be the Best Player to Come out of This Class

Every time I look back at the 2007 NFL draft, I still have a hard time believing that Adrian Peterson and Patrick Willis dropped as far as they did.

Peterson, who fell to Minnesota at No. 7, and Willis, who somehow lasted until the 11th pick where San Francisco wisely snatched him up, both turned into perennial pro bowlers and two of the most valuable players from a gifted 2007 class that also included the likes of CB Darrelle Revis, WR Calvin Johnson and LB LaMarr Woodley.

Now I realize that running back and inside linebacker are two of the least valued positions in today’s pass-happy NFL, but still, all it took was a quick look at Peterson and Willis as college prospects to realize they had  a chance to be special.

The natural physical ability that both of them showed was almost overwhelming.

Like the 2007 class, this year’s group of players is loaded with prospects who have absolutely freakish-type talent.

There are so many players in this draft who have the chance to become difference makers in the NFL whether it be high profile guys like DT Marcell Dareus, QB Cam Newton or CB Patrick Peterson or lesser publicized prospects such as super-pass rusher Aldon Smith. However, there’s one name, above all, that sticks out the most to me.

Julio Jones.

The Alabama receiver is on that same level as Adrian Peterson and Patrick Willis when it comes to  natural ability and athleticism. And I have a feeling that four years from now, when we look back on this draft, we’re all going to be scratching our heads, wondering why Jones slipped in the same fashion as Peterson and Willis.

To put it simply, Julio Jones will be biggest impact player to come out of the 2011 NFL draft.

I’m well aware that most consider Jones to be just a notch below fellow elite receiver prospect A.J. Green out of Georgia. But when I look at both, I just come away more intrigued by Jones.

That’s not to say Green doesn’t have a chance to great. He’s definitely going to be a game-changing No. 1 receiver for some lucky NFL team.

While Green will likely turn out to be great, it wouldn’t surprise me if Julio Jones becomes the No. 1 receiver in the league in less than three years' time.

He’s got that type of talent and potential.

Jones arrived at Alabama as the top high school WR recruit in the nation back in 2008, and he finally lived up to the billing as a junior, finishing his final season in Tuscaloosa with 78 catches for over 1,100 yards and nine total touchdowns.

Jones was the star of the show at the NFL Combine back in February, displaying eye-catching athleticism and lighting up every drill he competed in, finishing with a time of 4.39 in the 40-yard dash, a 38-inch vertical leap and an 11’3 broad jump.

At a chiseled 6’2’’ 220 lbs., Jones looks more like an ancient Mayan warrior than he does a football player.

Although there were times when he struggled to separate from coverage in college, Jones possesses all the traits—size, speed, hands, competitiveness, instincts, route-running savvy, physical blocker and overall playmaking ability—that you would desire in a No. 1 receiving target.

Now I’ll admit, I’ve been hot and cold with Jones during his time at Alabama.

I was enamored with him as a high school recruit but then I foolishly turned my back on him when he didn’t become the instant star that I was expecting him to be as a freshman.

Jones showed me something this year though that’s got me convinced he’s got the it factor to be a star in the NFL.

From his breathtaking one-handed catch in the season opener against San Jose State all the way up until his shredding performance in the Iron Bowl against Auburn, Jones demonstrated the type of unique skills that you just don’t see very often from a college WR prospect.

If I were running the Carolina Panthers, I would take Julio Jones with the No. 1 pick without hesitation. But we all know that won’t happen.

Right now, all you can hope for is that Jones ends up in a good situation (in other words, not Cincinnati), in the right offense where his talents can be best utilized.

If that happens, Julio Jones has a chance to emerge as the best player to come out of this draft when all is said and done.