Why Ex-NFL Player Believes Patriots Should Pursue Julio Jones Trade

Given their nightmarish salary cap situation, the Falcons might ultimately feel they have no other choice but to shop Julio Jones.

NFL center-turned-analyst Shaun O’Hara believes the Patriots should pounce if Atlanta makes its longtime superstar wide receiver available.

O’Hara was a part of Wednesday’s “Good Morning Football” panel tasked with identifying a team that should try to trade for Jones. The former Cleveland Brown and New York Giant opted for the Patriots, who he believes could reach new heights with Jones in the fold.

“…When you look at all the talent they’re bringing in — Hunter Henry and Matt Judon. You know, they just drafted Mac Jones. Adding Julio Jones to the Patriots I think completely changes the conversation about that offense,” O’Hara said on NFL Network. “It completely changes what Josh McDaniels is gonna try to do and now all of a sudden that offense becomes even more vertical. You got Hunter Henry in the middle of the field and you’ve got Julio on the outside. It wouldn’t be a new precedent either. When you look at the Patriots, they’ve kind of made a living on taking aging, veteran wide receivers.”

O’Hara added: “Julio’s got a lot of ball left in him. I think if you are Cam Newton or if you’re Mac Jones right now and you’ve got that guy, that changes everything you do offensively. … It wouldn’t be unprecedented for them to trade. They traded for Mohamed Sanu, gave up a second-round pick.”

O’Hara isn’t the only member of the football world keeping his eyes on a potential Jones-to-New England trade. Former New York Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum also recently floated Foxboro as a potential landing spot for the seven-time Pro Bowl selection.