Jerry Jeudy Elevates the Mile High City's Offense in 2020

Rip up those useless mocks, folks—wide receiver Jerry Jeudy went to the Denver Broncos as the 15^th overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft. He was the second wideout off the board after fellow 'Bama star Henry Ruggs, in a positional move that most fans and analysts had pegged many months ago.

What does Jeudy’s arrival in Denver mean for an offense that has lost its way since the retirement of Peyton Manning? Let’s dig in and see where the freshly-21-year old route specialist fits into the fantasy landscape for the upcoming season.

For more rookie outlooks, check out T.J. Hernandez's recent piece highlighting 18 fresh NFL'ers who can make an immediate impact on your fantasy squads.

Jerry Jeudy’s Collegiate Career

As a two-year starter at Alabama, Jeudy put together back-to-back seasons with over 1,100 receiving yards and double-digit touchdowns. Despite facing tough SEC secondaries, Jeudy was able to separate himself by his exceptional route running at every depth on the football field.

He shared a crowded receiver room with Henry Ruggs and Devonta Smith, but Jeudy stood out in terms of production, averaging 88.5 receiving yards per contest in 2018 and 2019, while Ruggs and Smith only posted 57.5 and 75 yards a tilt in that time frame, respectively.

While production in college is great and all, it’s a player’s skills that matter most in the NFL, and Jeudy is blessed with plenty of those. He combines crazy acceleration in and out of routes with deep-ball speed that left NCAA defenders out of the play most of the time.

This clip below is an in-depth breakdown from former receiver Nate Burleson on just how sharp Jeudy is at running routes and what sets him apart from other wideouts coming out of college.

There is some chatter about lingering knee issues, but as long as he can remain healthy, there’s a bright future for Jeudy in the NFL.

The Broncos Offense with Jerry Jeudy

Let’s be honest, the Broncos were more than a few weapons short of a powerful offensive arsenal in 2019. They began the year with veteran Joe Flacco at the helm, but due to an injured neck and overall crappy play, Denver was forced into rolling with rookie Drew Lock from Week 13 on. This turned out to be a pleasant and effective surprise for the franchise, as he led the team to a 4-1 finish.

Before I get more into the actionable part of all this, I just had to insert this Drew Lock bench video for you all because it’s amazing and Jeudy should be pumped to play with such a gem.

The Broncos have been spinning their wheels in the wideout department for several seasons after a myriad of draft picks didn’t pan out. Remember Cody Latimer, Isaiah McKenzie and Carlos Henderson? We can even lump DaeSean Hamilton in there, too. With Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders no longer in the orange and blue, it’s a new pass-catching era in Denver, and Jeudy joins Courtland Sutton, Noah Fant and fellow rookie K.J. Hamler on what could be an exciting offensive journey.

Denver was eighth in passing attempts and 21^st in rushes last season, which is a bit surprising to me, being as though they were perceived as a more run-heavy team in 2019.

Sutton was the target leader by a massive margin, seeing more than double the number of passes as Fant. The addition of Hamler as the Broncos' sequential pick leads us to think that Pat Shurmur is preparing for Drew Lock to let the ball fly this season, which isn’t too surprising given the affinity he got from Andy Reid to spread out defenses, unlike his run-heavy approach at the start of his career.

Even if the Broncos end up leading with the rushing attack of Melvin Gordon and Phillip Lindsay, there is still plenty of room to add a talent like Jeudy into the fold. If we take a look at the number of balls per contest Sanders was thrown in his seven games (6.1), Jeudy could see a clear path to 100 targets in 16 games of his rookie season, making him a legit fantasy weapon if Lock is anything like what we saw from him in the final five games of 2019.

One knock on Jeudy’s potential in 2020 is the unprecedented circumstances surrounding this season. Rookies are already under immense pressure to learn their particular schemes and playbooks during regular summer workouts and training camps, and are now having to start this season being educated virtually. The lack of time to build chemistry with his signal-caller and locker room could hinder Jeudy’s success, at least to start the year.

Bottom Line

As the second receiver off the board in 2020, Jerry Jeudy landed in a situation with plenty to be excited about.

• His superior route running and ability to keep defenders on their heels should earn him the 1b to Courtland Sutton’s 1a from the start, or even propel him to WR1 status in Denver.
• 100+ targets are within the realm of possibility in an offense set to take the training wheels off their sophomore quarterback.
• Jeudy’s ADP in redraft leagues is currently WR41. Heading into the season he’s a WR3 with some major upside–ranked 53rd in 4for4’s rankings.
• Lack of preparation and lingering knee issues could be a factor in his rookie campaign, as well.