Now, everybody knows that Jones' season-ending injury will impact the Falcons. But how much will he impact the Falcons?
Through 5 games, Matt Ryan has completed 151 of his passes. Jones has caught a team-high 41 receptions, which comes out to 8.2 receptions a game, and accounts for 27.2% of Ryan's completions. He's also second in yards per reception with 14.1, and it's worth mentioning that first in yards per reception on the Falcons is FB Bradie Ewing, who is also on the IR. Jones not only leads all WRs with 2 reception TDs, he's the only WR on the Falcons with a receiving touchdown. Jones has 580 receiving yards, which betters Tony Gonzalez, the second-leading receiver in yards, by 241 yards.
Now with all of that production out, and Roddy White still not 100% with a hamstring injury, the Falcons will turn the offense over to the WR core of Harry Douglas, Kevin Cone, Drew Davis, and Brian Robiskie, who was signed today. All four of those WRs have a combined sat line of 231 yards on 17 catches, both numbers which do not even meet half of Jones' production.
This couldn't have happened at a worse time. The Falcons are coming off a disappointing loss at home against the Jets, which puts the Falcons at a 1-4 hole. The offense is extremely pass-happy, and will now need to rely on the running game to start producing more, and it is ranked a middle-of-the-road 17th in yards per carry.
Once Roddy White returns to 100%, I think the Falcons will improve, but Jones' injury puts the dagger in Atlanta's already slim chances of making the playoffs.