Preying on a Broncos team that sorely missed its No. 2 cornerback (Riley Moss) during a historic revenge game, Jerry Jeudy‘s return to Denver went quite well — for the wide receiver, at least. Although the Browns were unable to hold on for an upset win, the fifth-year wideout’s 235-yard performance marked the most receiving yards anyone has compiled against a former team.
The Broncos sent Jeudy to the Browns for fifth- and sixth-round picks in March, cutting the cord after the talented but unreliable receiver had come up in trade rumors since the 2022 deadline. Jeudy said later in the offseason he requested to be dealt, but the Denver Post’s Troy Renck indicates the Broncos would have moved on regardless of the WR’s wishes.
Denver dropped its asking price considerably from 2023 to ’24. The team had hoped for a first-round pick in exchange for the wideout during the 2023 offseason, setting a second-round asking price for Courtland Sutton last year as well. The best offer that came in for Jeudy last year involved a package believed to include third- and fifth-round picks. The Broncos fielded that at the 2023 deadline but stood pat, doing so despite sitting 3-5 at the time.
Denver was midway through a five-game win streak at that point, and the team did not opt to sell. That midseason recovery (after a 1-5 start) dropped the Broncos out of the Caleb Williams–Jayden Daniels–Drake Maye sweepstakes, but the team has seen immediate promise from No. 12 choice Bo Nix, who has launched an Offensive Rookie of the Year campaign despite a receiving corps that has seen a drop-off from Jeudy at WR2.
Drafted during John Elway‘s final year at the controls, Jeudy showed high-end route-running chops but struggled to make a consistent impact in Denver. He topped out at 972 receiving yards in a season — a 2022 campaign that featured a wildly disappointing Russell Wilson–Nathaniel Hackett partnership. Much of Jeudy’s consistency issues can be traced to quarterback problems the Broncos experienced during the Alabama alum’s tenure. Jeudy said as much last week before lighting up a Moss-less secondary, albeit not faring especially well against Patrick Surtain when the two matched up. Jeudy (880 yards, three TDs) is on track for his first 1,000-yard season, one restrained early by the Browns’ refusal to bench Deshaun Watson despite woeful play.
The Broncos also may have received a better offer than what the Browns proposed this offseason, as the Jets are believed to have proposed a deal including a Day 2 pick for Jeudy, who was heading into his fifth-year option season at the time. During an offseason in which Woody Johnson is believed to have impeded then-GM Joe Douglas on a few occasions, the Jets owner reportedly nixed the AFC East team’s proposal. That led to the Broncos selling low, and the Browns now have Jeudy on what looks like a team-friendly contract. Days after the trade, Cleveland gave Jeudy a three-year, $52.5MM deal that came with $41MM fully guaranteed.
Jeudy’s issues in Denver aside, the team would appear to have finally found a quarterback capable of meshing with his skillset. The Nix-Jeudy partnership never was, of course. The Broncos opted to move on early — rather than wait to see how their QB plan shook out — by trading Jeudy before free agency and then assembled a low-cost WR corps alongside Sutton.
The Broncos have seen seventh-round rookie Devaughn Vele show early promise, with ex-Nix Oregon teammate Troy Franklin also integrated into the offense. The team added Josh Reynolds on a two-year, $9MM deal but saw him land on IR with a finger injury; Reynolds suffered minor injuries in a shooting soon after. The team had hoped Marvin Mims would rise into the Jeudy role, but the 2023 second-round pick has been more gadget player than regular starter. That said, Mims has displayed recent improvement — as evidenced most recently by his 93-yard score Monday night.
It can be argued the Broncos would have been wise to give Jeudy another chance, but the relationship had certainly soured by then. The Browns traded Amari Cooper in October, clearing the way for Jeudy to be their lead wideout to close this season. Denver will likely seek to upgrade its pass-catching group this offseason, as Sutton — who joined Jeudy as a trade-rumor mainstay — is 29 and set for a 2025 contract year while Vele is one of the older rookies in recent NFL history; the Utah alum will turn 27 this month.
