Jerry Jeudy ‘Attacking’ Broncos Coaching to Become a ‘Special’ Receiver
After a brilliant career at Alabama, Jerry Jeudy is ready to do the same with the Denver Broncos.
Denver drafted Jeudy, one of the most productive receivers in college football since 2017, to become a dangerous target for young quarterback Drew Lock. The young duo of Jeudy and Courtland Sutton should help bring Denver back to the postseason for the first time since winning Super Bowl 50.
Reviews out of Colorado have been positive. One teammate said Jeudy is on pace to become a “special” receiver for the Denver Broncos.
Jerry Jeudy starred at Alabama
A highly-touted prospect out of Deerfield Beach, Fla., Jerry Jeudy immediately contributed with 14 catches, 264 yards, and two touchdowns as a true freshman at Alabama in 2017.
Promoted to the starting lineup in 2018, Jeudy turned 68 catches into 1,315 yards (an average of 19.3 yards per reception) and 14 touchdowns in 15 games. Although Jeudy caught nine more passes last year, his overall receiving numbers dipped to 1,163 yards and 10 touchdowns.
One shouldn’t read too much into those numbers. Alabama played two fewer games and lost star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in November to a hip injury.
Denver drafted Jeudy in the first round of April’s draft
Alabama had two wide receivers projected to go in the first round of April’s NFL draft: Henry Ruggs III and Jerry Jeudy.
Las Vegas drafted Ruggs, a speedster, with the 12th overall pick. Three picks later, Denver invested their first-round pick on Jeudy.
During the pre-draft process, NFL Media’s Lance Zierlein compared Jeudy to former Steelers and Jets receiver Santonio Holmes. Zierlein praised Jeudy’s speed and explosive play ability.
“Jeudy is high-cut and a little leggy in his press release and short-area movements, but fluid hips and above-average agility prevent any stagnation. He’s a linear route specialist with a great feel for leveraging and then stemming defenders away from his food on intermediate and deep passes. The hands need work and contested catches will be much more challenging against bigger, faster matchups across from him.”
Zierlein had Jeudy ranked 10th on his big board, just higher than 11th-ranked Ruggs.
Courtland Sutton offered major praise for Jerry Jeudy
The lack of a traditional rookie minicamp and offseason program has affected some first-year players.
That hasn’t happened to Jerry Jeudy, according to Broncos teammate Courtland Sutton. According to Sports Illustrated, Sutton told reporters that Jeudy has been “attacking” the Broncos coaching and how they’ve tried helping him prepare for the NFL.
Sutton, who caught 73 passes for 1,12 yards and six touchdowns last year, couldn’t hide his excitement about playing alongside Jeudy.
“He’s adding that to his game. It’s fun to watch his game continue to mature and continue to grow. I look forward to seeing how he performs Monday night versus the Titans and the rest of the season because he is special.”
Denver listed Jeudy and fourth-year wideout Tim Patrick as co-starters on the official depth chart.
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