Jets owner wouldn’t trade for ex-Bronco Jeudy over Madden rating

The Denver Broncos sent former first-round pick Jerry Jeudy to the Cleveland Browns this past spring.

Reportedly, Jeudy was almost a member of the New York Jets, until their owner Woody Johnson stepped in.

In a bombshell report published by The Athletic on Thursday that details the dysfunction of the Jets, there was a surprising Broncos twist. Johnson didn’t want the Jets trading for the wide receiver Jeudy because of his Madden rating. Seriously.

Here’s a look inside the article that’s going viral on social media. You may have to click on the tweet to read the whole thing.

Well this is the most @nyjets thing ever: according to this @nytimes article owner Woody Johnson nixed a trade for WR Jerry Jeudy because his Madden rating was too low 🙄🙄 pic.twitter.com/ev1NAOVBoP

— trey wingo (@wingoz) December 19, 2024

That’s almost hard to believe, but also could help explain the disastrous state the Jets are in. Broncos GM George Paton felt like he had a deal nearly done, but it was nixed because Jeudy’s Madden rating wasn’t high enough. It’s a crazy sentence to even type.

Paton ultimately landed two picks from the Browns for Jeudy, one in the fifth-round and another in the sixth. It’d be interesting to know if New York’s offer was better, but because of Johnson doing his research off video games and not with his own scouting department, it was vetoed.

Jeudy’s having a bit of the last laugh on this. Yes, Cleveland stinks, but he passed the 1000-yard receiving mark for the first time in his career and torched the Broncos for 235 yards and a touchdown on Monday Night Football. Luckily, Denver still won the game thanks to some incredible defensive plays, scoring two TDs of their own.

Broncos Country is lucky to have a CEO / owner like Greg Penner who gets out the way and let’s people do their jobs. That isn’t the case with the Jets, and Jeudy is probably glad a Madden rating of all things reportedly kept him out of New York.

Related

Pump the brakes on any bold Troy Franklin predictions in 2026Jahdae Barron should be on notice during Broncos training campBroncos Camp Day 2: Three big things from the dayBo Nix on extension talk: ‘You got to go out there and continue to earn it’The Broncos have a real battle for backup quarterbackBroncos president admits ‘frustration’ as 2031 stadium timeline tightens