You think an Austin is the same thing as a Jones, so one compares them?
I don't even count Austin as a receiver. And I was saying that before they drafted him (and I favored drafting him). In fact I think it's one of the analysis mistakes that keeps being made in discussions of the Rams...somehow, for some reason, some people keep trying to discuss Austin as a receiver.
And he's not. What he is, is a combined yards multiple weapon. He runs, he catches, he returns, he's a decoy. I thought they used him well in 2015, when he had as many carries as he did catches.
How is that comparable to Jones? Jones IS a receiver.
The way the Rams tried to add receiver, guys equivalent to what Jones is (though nowhere near his caliber), was by drafting guys like Quick and signing Britt. There's your comparison. And of course Britt isn't Jones but then where was the Rams chance to obtain a Jones?
And comparing the trade-ups strikes me as the wrong approach. They gave up a 2nd rounder for Austin. Jones cost the Falcons a 2 1sts, a 2nd, and 2 4ths. There's nothing remotely similar there.
If and when there is another Jones, maybe the Rams trade up for him. Meanwhile as they go ahead and improve, the Rams will simply have to be one of the many teams in NFL history which did well without Julio Jones.
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