Julio Jones was already on record as confidently stating he is the best receiver in the NFL. Now he and Roddy White plan to restake their claim on best combo.
"When you step on the field, you should feel that you're the best, you and whoever your partner is," Jones told ESPN.com. "I feel like me and Roddy, we're the best when we step on the field. We take it as a challenge every year: We want to go out and show everybody we're the best one-two in the league."
Last year, the Chicago Bears' duo of Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery took over the spot as the proverbial "best receiver duo" in the NFL. Chris Wesseling pegged the Falcons pair as No. 2 behind the Bears in his latest iteration of this receivers exercise.
However, White points out that Jones was on the field for just five games in 2013, when they had their title taken.
"Numbers don't lie: They did a good job last year," White said of Marshall and Jeffery. "We weren't there to play in the party. But this year, we're going to be there to play in the party. So at the end of the season, we'll come together, and then we'll see what happens."
Based solely on numbers, the Bears' combination racked up 2,716 yards combined in 2013, while the Falcon tandem came in at combined 2,549 yards in 2012 (their best season).
Still, Jones -- when healthy -- might be alone behind Calvin Johnson in the receiver pecking order, and White had six straight 1,000-yard seasons before last year.
With White's skills declining, it will take a big bounce-back year for the duo to pass the younger Bears, but at least they will be part of the party this season.
In the latest episode of the "Around The League Podcast," the guys discuss Rob Gronkowski's expected return to action and Cordarrelle Patterson's potential rise this season.