John Elway drafted wide receiver Jerry Jeudy in the 2020 NFL draft, a distinction that symbolized the then-general manager’s lasting legacy with the team — Jeudy was Elway’s last first-round pick as the team’s GM.
Now Elway’s an outside consultant, while his handpicked man George Paton is the team’s GM. Since Jeudy entered the league, though, he has displayed ups and downs. There’ll always be peaks and valleys.
The receiver totaled 52 receptions on 113(!) targets as a rookie for 856 yards and three touchdowns in 16 games (14 starts). Drew Lock was his QB. The production in his first year in the league with a second-year QB led to the fantasy football cognoscenti touting Jeudy as the next Year 2 breakout WR the following season.
Unfortunately for those savvy fantasy managers, Jeudy was limited to 10 games (five starts) in his second season with Teddy Bridgewater as the team’s starter.
Now, enter Russell Wilson.
The acquisition of Wilson drew parallels to Elway getting his man in Peyton Manning way back when — and rightfully so. Jeudy has noticed Wilson’s arrival changing the energy at the team’s facility.
“[He’s] always uplifting guys and always motivating guys to go out there and keep working hard,” Jeudy said Wednesday. “On the off days when you don’t feel like working or doing anything, he’s the guy that comes up [to you] and gets your mind right for it. That’s a great guy to be around.”
After two seasons that didn’t quite live up to expectations, Jeudy believes Wilson can help him take a step forward in his career.
“He could help me a lot,” the receiver said. “He’s a great quarterback — a Hall of Fame [caliber] quarterback that came to the offense as a leader. [He’s] getting me better as well. He’s going to help me a lot this year.”
Those same savvy fantasy managers are ready to target Jeudy in fantasy drafts this summer with Wilson in the fold. Broncos Country, however, is happy with wins via the Wilson-Jeudy connection taking off next season. Check out the QB-WR duo working out together below.
