What a Seahawks trade for Julio Jones could look like

Ask DK Metcalf who the best receiver in the league is, and he’ll say Julio Jones.  Now the Falcons are interested in trading Julio away, and the Seahawks may make a run at him.

News broke on Monday morning that the Falcons may have some interest in moving Julio for future help in the draft.  I suspect that they will ask for either a 3rd or 4th round pick in this year’s draft or a 2nd or 3rd in next year’s.

The Falcons don’t want to gain a whole lot in picks for this trade, they simply want to get Julio off the books, since he’s costing them so much.  They could cut him, but that would leave them with $40 million in dead cap, a move that would be horrible for the organization.

What would a Julio Jones to Seahawks trade look like?

I think the Seahawks would at least have the Falcons attention if they called and offered their 2022 3rd round pick and a decent defensive player, maybe Tre Flowers.  The Seahawks also have the option to trade next year’s 2nd round pick, and if they did I don’t think they would have to package a player in the deal.

This trade would benefit both sides.  The Falcons get a 2nd or 3rd rounder next year (conditional on whether the Seahawks want to move on from a player like Flowers) and get to move off of Julio’s big contract.  The Seahawks don’t give up a whole lot of capital and get to give their offense a big boost for at least the next two years.

If Julio’s injuries persist, they can cut him after the 2021 season (with a dead cap hit of $17.5 million, very undesirable) or after the 2022 season (with a dead cap hit of $7.75 million, a much better move).  Knowing how well John Schneider and the Seahawks’ front offense have manipulated the cap in the past, I believe they could make a deal work for Julio Jones to join this team.

How would Julio help the Seahawks on offense?

First of all, the addition of Julio would eliminate any need for the Seahawks to draft a receiver, probably for the next two years.

I’m not sure about how Julio would fit into Shane Waldron’s offensive scheme.  If Waldron believes that the all-pro receiver can’t give him anything special, the Seahawks may pass on asking about him.  However, if there’s a way that Shane Waldron can work him into the plan, it’s worth a shot.

I think the best way Julio would fit into the 2021 offense would be as a big target over the middle of the field who was sure hands, one who Russ can lean on if DK or Tyler aren’t open deep.

Imagine an offense quarterbacked by Russell Wilson and with receivers DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and Julio Jones.  It sounds unstoppable to me.  Now it just remains to be seen whether Seattle’s front office will be interested enough to call in an offer.