The NFL announced Tuesday that Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones and center Alex Mack have been named to the 2017 Pro Bowl roster.
Jones has had another impressive season to add to his already historic resume, as he earns his fourth consecutive Pro Bowl selection – fifth of his career. The seven-year pro is currently third in the league in receiving yards (1,215) and has also hauled in three receiving touchdowns, which moved him to fourth on the franchise’s all-time receiving touchdown list. In Week 11 versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the 6-3 220-pound wide out from Alabama caught 12 passes for 253 yards. That game was the third time Jones had crossed the 250+ receiving yard mark in a game – the most in NFL history. No other player in league history has more than one 250+ receiving yard game. Also during that game, Jones broke another NFL record by posting the most catches of any player in their first 90 games (563). His 8,649 career receiving yards were also the most through a player’s first 90 games.
Jones has also posted three 100-yard games, running his total up to 38 for his career. He is now one game off the franchise record for most 100-yard games. Jones’ has 76 receptions on the year, which has helped knocked his total up to 573 through his seven-year career. On his third reception in Week 15, Jones tied former Falcon wide receiver Terance Mathis for second all-time on the franchise’s reception list.
Mack has once again anchored this Falcons offense, as he earns his third consecutive Pro Bowl selection – fifth of his career. Mack has now played and started in every game since 2015 – going back to his time with the Cleveland Browns. The center from Cal has been in the middle of an offensive line that has helped block for the ninth ranked offense (366.8), the eighth ranked rushing attack (122.9), and the 10th ranked passing attack in the league (243.9).
In Week 11 against the Bucs, Mack helped block for an offense that recorded a season high 516 total yards. That was the fourth time in the past two seasons, the offense has recorded 500-plus total yards. The offense has also recorded 198 big plays (plays of 10+ yards) on the season, which ranks tied for sixth in the NFL. The offense also averages 6.03 yards per play, which is fourth in the NFL. Mack is also a part of an offensive line that has only given up 18 sacks this season, which is the fifth fewest in the league.
