In 2020 we saw an outburst from the rookie wide receivers. We saw Justin Jefferson take the league by storm and assert himself in the top tier of WRs in fantasy football dynasty leagues. CeeDee Lamb began to mold with Dak Prescott before Prescott’s gruesome leg injury. We also witnessed Tee Higgins, Chase Claypool, Brandon Aiyuk, and Laviska Shenault all manage to have relatively solid seasons from rookies.
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But what happened to Jerry Jeudy? Jeudy was a player most would’ve had in their top-3 WRs coming out of college (I had him #3 behind Higgins and Jefferson). He had an above-average season as well, totaling over 800 yards on 16+ yards per catch. Considering his situation (which is more of a negative than a positive), Jeudy still managed to produce solid rookie numbers.
Jerry Jeudy at this moment has a fantasy football ADP of WR23 according to DLF July Startup Dynasty ADP. This falls behind all of the aforementioned players except Shenault. As his value stands, he’s last in a tier of rookie WRs that hold that true WR1 upside. This shouldn’t be the case.
Drew Lock doesn’t have to be better. I know the situation, and it’s why people shy away from Jeudy (or Denver altogether), and it’s wrong.
Jeudy is only 22 years old. He has time to really refine his craft and be an assertive and dynamic wide receiver. He posted a ridiculous 16.4 yards per catch, which ranked 2nd in all players who saw over 100 targets. He’s one of the more crisp route runners out of the 2020 class, and offers quick burst and cuts where he can gain additional yards with ease.
He had a drop problem in 2020. Having only a 46% catch rate on all his targets, he managed to drop 14 passes. So if 54% of his passes were not caught, that would leave him at 61 targets that were never caught. If he only dropped 14 of those 61, the indictment on Jeudy’s hands really isn’t the issue.
The best case for Jeudy is for Teddy Bridgewater to start at QB, but even in fantasy football dynasty leagues it doesn’t matter. Neither him or Lock are there for the long haul, and whoever the Broncos feel is their guy, should offer greater upside *cough* Aaron Rodgers *cough*. If the Broncos somehow landed Rodgers, we’d all be aboard this Jeudy train, and by then it would be too late.
I think Jeudy’s short and long-term success is in the hands of John Elway and staff. Elway has to find this man a QB. What he has in his skill set, mixed with Courtland Sutton, Noah Fant, KJ Hamler, and Javonte Williams would offer one of the best offenses in football under the right QB. We all know what Bridgewater was capable of keeping the Panthers WRs relevant, but he isn’t the long-term answer for the Broncos.
I’m not saying I believe Rodgers is heading to Denver, but the speculation of him leaving is only a ticking time bomb. Whether it’s tomorrow or next May, Rodgers by this time next year will be in a new uniform. I don’t see why his preferred landing spot would change, seeing as his fiancé lives in Colorado. Until then, enjoy buying the dip on Jeudy, because it literally cannot get worse for him than Drew Lock. Ride this year out, hope Teddy B starts a majority of games, and cash your benefits when they get him a true QB for the future.
Buy the Dip.
