NFL Trade Deadline: 30 greatest trades in NFL history

15. Atlanta trades five picks to move up for Julio Jones

In four of his first six NFL seasons, Matt Ryan was able to help the Atlanta Falcons earn trips to the playoffs. He made it clear that he was quickly becoming a top quarterback in the league with the chance to one day hopefully bring the team its first Super Bowl.

Unfortunately, that has yet to happen for the Falcons after missing out on numerous opportunities over the years. At least the team did a fantastic job back in 2011 at bringing Ryan in a reliable target. They traded up in the first round of the draft to select Julio Jones out of Alabama.

Along with A.J. Green, the former Alabama star was considered one of the top receivers from the 2011 Draft class. When seeing how Jones quickly became a favorite target to Ryan as a rookie with 54 caches for 959 yards with eight touchdowns, this made the trade seem worth it.

From there, Jones would continue to get better with experience while making a strong case for himself as one of the league’s top receivers. This is still accurate today.

Back then, there were some who criticized the Falcons for giving up as many pick as they did to move up in the first round. They sent five picks to the Cleveland Browns, including the No. 27 pick from 2011 and a first-rounder the following year.

Maybe sooner rather than later, Jones can finally help Atlanta claim that first title? This would make the trade from 2011 even more worthwhile. Frankly, it’s safe to say just about every Falcons fan already feels like they won the trade going away.