Broncos wideout Jerry Jeudy has been better than most people think
Jul 20, 2022, 6:33 AM
After a season in which Broncos’ wide receiver Jerry Jeudy failed to reach the end zone despite appearing in 10 games, the former first-round draft pick has yet to display the dazzling talent that made him a top-tier NFL prospect while winning a national championship at Alabama. It’s led more than a few pundits to proclaim the former first-round pick a “bust.”
Despite a disappointing start to Jeudy’s career, there’s been more than meets the eye. And those signs bode well for a breakout 2022 campaign.
In his highly anticipated rookie season of 2020, Jeudy was targeted 7.1 times per game by then-starter Drew Lock, whose aggressive style meant an array of attempts, but less-than-ideal accuracy. According to Pro Football Focus, no receiver in the league had a lower percentage of catchable balls, but Jeudy also had an unofficial 10 drops; fully half of them in a single road game against the Chargers.
“I’m watching the ball come in; I just dropped it,” Jeudy said after the 19-16 loss. “I’ve just got to focus on the next play. It just happened too many times today. That’s unacceptable.”
Jeudy caught 52 of his 62 catchable targets on the season. That’s an 83.9 percent rate.
Lock was displaced in 2021 by the more-cautious Teddy Bridgewater, and Jeudy’s targets dropped precipitously. Jeudy was only targeted 5.6 times per game, and a paltry three times in the red zone all season long.
Impressively, Jeudy was still among the league leaders in “cushion” and average yards of separation — putting up numbers in both categories nearly identical to the Rams’ Cooper Kupp — despite a high-ankle sprain that hampered his performance and limited him to 10 games on the season. Jeudy dropped only a pair of passes in 2021, and upped his success rate on catchable balls to 90.5 percent.
Despite the underwhelming seasons for the Broncos as a whole, especially given their punchless offense, it’s worth noting that Jeudy led the team in receiving yards per game in each of the team’s last — and his first — two seasons. He’s one of only 12 wide receivers to do so, and many of the others — Kupp, Davante Adams, Stefon Diggs and Chris Godwin, to name a few — are among the finest in the league. Of course, those players also have some of the best quarterbacks in the league throwing their way, as well. Only Jeudy, Washington’s Terry McLaurin and Carolina’s D.J. Moore have accomplished the feat despite working with different starting quarterbacks; usually an indicator of subpar play from the signal-caller.
However, the counting stats — 90 receptions for 1,323 yards and three touchdowns in two seasons — remain decidedly pedestrian, especially for the 15th-overall selection in the draft. There’s no getting around that, nor is there any getting around Jeudy’s penchant for social-media statements that don’t appear to match his effort level at times. There’s unquestionably some maturation needed from the 23-year-old wideout.
Perhaps the hard lessons from his highly public and unfortunate offseason court case — one which resulted in no charges filed following a verbal spat with his girlfriend — will accelerate that process.
“Just knowing how to handle the situation from now on; I learned from it,” Jeudy said in June. “Now, I’m just getting ready to move forward.”
Moving forward, in Jeudy’s case, comes with an exponential upgrade at quarterback in Russell Wilson, who’s already made an impact with his young wideout.
“Having Russ is just going to make me a better player… It’s been good, just watching film, coming in here earlier and just going over certain plays and certain route concepts and stuff like that,” Jeudy explained. “It’s been a lot of help. (I’m) just focused on the little things, the details, and just becoming a better player than I was the past two years.”
Wilson will help in a lot of ways.
“He always keeps me motivated,” Jeudy added. “He’s a great leader, great guy.”
The talent is there. While Jeudy hasn’t exploded onto the scene like Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson — the only other player from that 2020 draft class to lead his team in receiving yards per game over the last two seasons — he’s already shown improvement despite being in one of the league’s worst-designed offenses, one that the former head coach didn’t seem to have much interest in, anyway. If Wilson and new head coach Nathaniel Hackett can unlock what Nick Saban did in Tuscaloosa, Jeudy’s third time out just might be the charm. He certainly thinks so.
“I can’t wait to touch that paint. That’s my first time ever playing the game of football and not being able to score a touchdown,” he said of last season. “I know this year when I get in that end zone, you all are going to feel me.”
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