The Broncos need to get Jerry Jeudy more involved in the offense
Oct 29, 2020, 6:09 AM
The Broncos spent their first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft on the best wide receiver prospect in the class. Denver selected Jerry Jeudy with the 15th overall pick.
Jeudy has wowed everyone with his workout videos with his quick feet and highlights of his insane route running ability. I’ve compared the rookie to Antonio Brown while playing with the Steelers.
Almost midway through his rookie year, however, there’s an issue. The Denver offense is not using him correctly.
John Elway drafted Jeudy in the first round to be an additional weapon for hopeful developmental quarterback Drew Lock. Elway thought if he can add weapons on offense for his young gunslinger, then maybe the Broncos could compete with the Chiefs. That was a failure.
Through six games so far, the rookie wide receiver has only caught one touchdown pass. That came against the winless Jets. That pass also came from Brett Rypien, who started the season on the practice squad.
Jeudy has yet to have a 100-yard game in his rookie season. His career high so far is 62 yards against the Steelers. In that game, Jeudy was targeted seven times, but only one target came from Lock before he was injured. Jeff Driskel would finish the game at quarterback.
In the last two games, Jeudy has been targeted only nine times, which resulted in a total of four receptions. That’s a total of 52 yards.
Jeudy is an explosive weapon that could be used correctly. It’s not the fact the Jeudy hasn’t been open in the six games this season, but the fact that his quarterbacks haven’t been looking at him.
Last game against the Chiefs, Lock missed key opportunities to target Jeudy because he was too worried about making the “home run” play. Lock targeted the tight end position 17 times against Kansas City last week.
Broncos offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur has never produced an elite offense during his career. But he can make an impact this season.
We have yet to see many creative plays on offense. With Lock coming from a spread offense in college, Shurmur has yet to build an offense for Lock and his weapons.
With Jeudy’s quick feet and playmaking ability after the catch, Shurmur should be designing plays to get the ball into Jeudy’s hands quickly and often. Shurmur should be drawing up a screen pass to Jeudy to get him in the open space. Imagine having Jeudy run the bubble screen that Peyton Manning and Demaryius Thomas ran back in the day. How about some more RPOs for Lock?
I spoke with former slot wide receiver Brandon Stokley and he even mentioned that the Broncos should be having Lock hit Jeudy on some quick slants over the middle. Bottom line is that the Broncos need to allow Jeudy to show what he can do with his explosiveness with the ball.
After Sunday’s loss to Kansas City, Lock said he understood that he needs to be play better and be more efficient in the passing game. Even head coach Vic Fangio mentioned that the entire passing game needs to change.
It’s understandable that Shurmur’s offenses in the past have focused mainly on tight ends and receiving running backs. But it’s time to make an adjustment.
With the Chargers ranking 28th in passing yards allowed in the NFL this season, expect the Broncos offense to be more balanced and that will lead to more explosive big plays down the field on Sunday. Lock will need to understand that a short pass to a playmaker like Jeudy for five yards can turn into a 20-plus yard play. Lock has to trust his offensive weapons to make plays.
It’s time to unleash Jerry Jeudy and against one of the worst secondaries in the NFL on Sunday, it’s seems like a perfect match to have a 100-yard game filled with big plays from the Alabama alumni.
