BEREA, Ohio — Jerry Jeudy revealed Friday why he wasn’t heartbroken when the Broncos traded him to the Browns in March for fifth- and sixth-round picks in the 2024 draft.
It’s because he asked to be traded.
“It didn’t hurt at all because that’s what I wanted,” Jeudy said. “But it was cool.”
The Broncos’ first-round pick in 2020 out of Alabama, No. 15 overall, Jeudy grew increasingly frustrated last season with the way he was being used. He was second in targets to Courtland Sutton with 87, but caught only two TD passes to Sutton’s 10. He was also second with 54 receptions for 758 yards. Over his last five games, he was targeted an average of 5.2 times game. That’s compared to 9 times over his last four games here, including 11 in two of them.
“It was just a new change every year and just the amount of plays I had gotten throughout the year last year and just knowing the player I am,” he said. “I just wasn’t satisfied how they were using me and I felt like I could do way more than what they expected of me. I felt limited, so I felt like I had to go somewhere else to really showcase what I’m about.”
Even though he asked to be traded, he was still disappointed things didn’t work out in Denver, where he spent four seasons.
“I always wanted to finish where I started at,” he said. “I just felt I needed a first start, a new atmosphere and now I’m here. I’m excited about that.”
Has he seen the difference here?
“Oh hell yeah,” he said.
Is this the best stretch of his career?
“As far as in getting the ball? Yeah,” he said. “As far as in getting open and doing what I’m supposed to do? No.”
He acknowledged that his return to Denver has a little extra juice for him, given all that’s tied up in the game. It’s on Monday Night Football in his old stomping grounds, where he’ll be matched up with his lifelong friend and longtime teammate Patrick Surtain II, the Broncos’ All-Pro cornerback.
“I’m ready to go over there and win a football game,” he said. “You always want to beat the opposing team that you used to play for. That’s just the competitive nature of us athletes, so yeah.”
He didn’t circle it on the calendar, but certainly made a mental note of it.
“I definitely seen that it was on the schedule, was very excited about it. Now it’s here. Now it’s time to perform.”
After trading Amari Cooper to the Bills at the Nov. 5 deadline, the Browns elevated Jeudy to WR1 status, and he now leads the team with 45 catches and 645 yards. He’s also tied for second with 2 TDs. At his current clip, he’ll finish with just under 1,000 yards, but with Jameis Winston at the helm, he has an excellent chance of reaching the milestone for the first time in his career.
In his last four games, he’s averaged 7 catches and 95 yards per game, compared to 3 catches and 38 yards with Deshaun Watson at the helm when the new offense stumbled out of the gate.
In the snowglobe upset of the Steelers, he made one big play after another, catching 6 of 6 targets for 85 yards. On the Browns’ first TD drive, he made grabs of 16, 8 and 15 on his first four plays, and on the gamewinning TD drive, he caught a 5-yarder on fourth and 3, and a 15-yarder on third and 6 to the Steelers’ 9. Both drives ended with 2 yard TD runs by Nick Chubb. But the game displayed Jeudy’s elite ability.
“One thing is he’s very smart,” offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey said. “He does a great job, just feel of the game, understanding of coverages, but then also being able to move him around into different places. We could play him inside, we could play him outside, X, Z slot, whatever it is. So having that flexibility is huge to be able to move a guy of his caliber around to do different things with him.”
Dorsey also cited his high-level traits, the ones that caused him to be drafted ahead of players such as Justin Jefferson and CeeDee Lamb in the first round of the 2020 draft. The only receiver drafted ahead of him was former Alabama teammate Henry Ruggs, who’s serving time for killing a driver while driving drunk.
“He’s got the ability to run with speed, get in and out of cuts, great body control and wiggle in his routes to where he could kind of give the DB a little bit of something and then still be able to get in and out of cut,” he said. “I do think that he’s really grown as the year has gone on, not only in just number of catches, but confidence and I think that’s confidence for him, but also the quarterbacks, I think have a ton of confidence in him as well to give him those opportunities.”
The Browns knew that Jeudy could play inside or out and separate at the level of his idol Cooper, but he’s exceeded even their expectations.
“You see some of those things on tape,” he said. “But I definitely think he’s surprised us in a lot of good ways in terms of what he could handle mentally, the run-after-catch stuff has been really good for us. And that’s a huge part of this league is you’ve got to be able to turn some of those short passes into longer gains and skip some third downs with rack opportunities and things like that.
“So that’s been really a great thing for us just with his ability to do that, to go out and win one-on-one matchups. And I do think that’s a litmus test for receivers, can you go out and win press man coverage against good DBs in this league? And hopefully, he could continue to do that.”
Jeudy will face arguably his stiffest test of the season with Surtain, who has three interceptions this season and is off to another Pro Bowl campaign.
“Size, strength, speed, quickness, athleticism, ball skills,” Kevin Stefanski said of Surtain. “He’s the prototype. He’s outstanding.”
Jeudy and Surtain, the Broncos first-round pick in 2021 out of Alabama, grew up competing against each other in Little League ball in South Florida, and played at Alabama together before their three season together in Denver. They know each’s other’s strengths and weaknesses.
“It’s going to be a fun matchup,” Jeudy said. “I’ve known Pat since little league, being competing against him down there my whole life. To finally get the opportunity to go against him on this big stage, it’s going to be fun.”
What makes Surtain special, he said, is “just how smart he is. He’s long. He’s fast. For a big dude, he know how to get out his breaks.”
He expects Surtain to shadow him wherever he goes, even in the slot.
“Pat’s a great DB,” he said. “It don’t matter if you’re outside, he’s going to follow. You’re going see.”
Jeudy noted the differences between Surtain and Browns No. 1 cornerback Denzel Ward, who ranked himself as best in the league, with Surtain in his top 5.
“I feel like they’re two different kind of DBs,” Jeudy said. “Pat is more of a tall, likes to use his arms and grab a little bit and Denzel is more like a backpedal, likes to use his feet. He relies on his footwork a little bit more. They’re two different types of cornerbacks but also great corners that I love going against and it’s always a challenge going against them, so it’s going to be exciting going against Pat this week for sure.”
Broncos coach Sean Payton knows Jeudy well from their two seasons together in Denver, and also knows the guy throwing him the ball well now from their two seasons in New Orleans.
“He’s explosive, he separates—and I know Jameis,” Payton said. “I’ve coached both of them. Jameis’s personality is infectious. He’ll tell somebody, ‘Hey, go get open and I’m going to find you.’ So that’s what a receiver wants. Those guys have had a good connection. You see it just in the limited games that Jameis has played. From a talent standpoint, he has great hips, great transition, and he has great football IQ.”
With rookie quarterback Bo Nix lighting it up, the Broncos are 7-5 and now hold the seventh and final spot in the AFC playoff chase. They’re third in the AFC West, but making a strong push. The Browns, meanwhile, are 3-8 and needing to win out to even have a chance.
“I feel like it’s a game that we need to win to enter the playoffs, so it’s a very important game,” Jeudy said. “The person I am, I just want to dominate every week, so it’s just a week to do that.”
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