Julio Jones Fantasy Overview

Eagles WR DeVonta Smith (ankle) is out for Sunday’s game vs. the Giants. He didn’t practice all week, which puts his availability for the Wild Card round in question. Julio Jones figures to step in as Philadelphia’s No. 2 WR on Sunday.

Eagles WR Julio Jones has been elevated from the practice squad and is expected to play vs. the Dolphins on Sunday night, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The 34-year-old Jones evidently kept himself in good shape if he's ready to play less than a week after joining the Eagles. Jones should not be in Week 7 season-long fantasy lineups and would likely need an injury to WR A.J. Brown or WR DeVonta Smith to have bankable fantasy value this season.

The Eagles announced out of nowhere Tuesday that they have signed WR Julio Jones. The move likely signals that they don't expect WR Quez Watkins -- who recently landed on IR -- to return anytime soon. It's tough to imagine a significant fantasy impact from Jones, though. He caught just 3.1 passes per game with the Titans in 2021 and then 2.4 per game with last year's Buccaneers. Each set a career low. And Jones appeared in just 10 games each season. We'll be interested to see how the Eagles incorporate Jones. But we're not chasing him on redraft waivers or adjusting outlooks for any incumbents on the Philly offense.

Update: Ian Rapoport adds that Jones is joining the practice squad, but that he's likely to get quickly elevated. We'd also be surprised if Jones signed to just work on the practice squad.

Buccaneers WR Chris Godwin hauled 10 of 13 targets for 85 yards in Monday's Wild Card loss vs. the Cowboys. Godwin is 1 of 3 Bucs' WRs who received double-digit targets in this contest. WR Julio Jones tallied 7 catches on 11 targets for 77 yards and a TD, and WR Mike Evans roped in 6 of 11 targets for 74 yards of his own. These are pretty eye-popping numbers on the surface, but it's not nearly as impressive considering QB Tom Brady was forced to throw the ball 66 times in the loss. It's difficult at this time to look ahead to the 2023 NFL season for these wideouts given Brady's uncertain future. We'll have a better idea of what to expect from Godwin and Evans once we learn who the Bucs QB is next season.