A “much more mature” Jerry Jeudy primed to truly break out in Year 2 with Broncos

It was only April, but Jerry Jeudy’s hunger for this season was already festering. So much so that when he got home from a training session, he decided he had plenty more in the tank — as he hopes to show with the Broncos this fall.

So Jeudy grabbed a ball, strapped on his helmet, and started conditioning in the street of his suburban neighborhood. It drew the attention of a nice neighbor named Nancy, who came by to comment. More importantly, Jeudy’s commitment to growth entering his second NFL season has also caught the eye of his coach.

“I see a more focused and more diligent receiver on the details,” Vic Fangio said. “He knows he can’t slack. I see a much more mature guy right now.”

After the Broncos picked him No. 15 overall out of Alabama last year, Jeudy’s rookie season consisted of flashes of dominance juxtaposed with moments of inexplicable poor play.

The 22-year-old had 52 catches for 856 yards and three touchdowns while playing in all 16 games, but he also had a team-high 10 drops, ranking second-worst of all NFL wideouts. That included five drops in a forgettable Week 15 performance against the Chargers.

There was also the tweet Jeudy sent following Denver’s Week 13 loss to Kansas City, in which he said, “At least I got my conditioning in,” after recording one catch on only four targets.

“Obviously he could’ve handled (the adversity) better at some points, but he was a rookie who puts a lot on his own shoulders and wants to be great really badly,” fellow wideout Tim Patrick said. “Stuff happens, but going into Year 2… for him it’s all mental at this point. He knows he can get open against anybody in this league, now it’s to the point where he has to put it on film and remind them who he is.”

Jeudy’s confident that he can correct his inconsistencies.

“(I’ve worked a lot on) concentration and focusing on the ball,” Jeudy said. “I’m so quick to catch and run to hurry up and make a play instead of catching first, then running. That’s mostly what it is. Last year I was just trying to make a play too fast and not focusing on the bigger picture, which is catching the ball first.”

When Jeudy did haul it in last season, he was dynamic.

He had 23 “explosive” catches (gains of at least 16 yards), which led Denver, and his 92-yard touchdown catch against Last Vegas in Week 17 was the longest reception and longest TD reception in the NFL in 2020. He also ranked seventh in the league with 16.5 yards per catch.

Even with the rookie growing pains, Jeudy’s electric play already has the respect of Denver’s top wideout, Courtland Sutton, who will be in his first full year playing with Jeudy after losing nearly all of the 2020 season to a knee injury.

“Jerry is very, very talented,” Sutton said. “Being able to watch him from a distance was nice, but now, being able to watch those things that I saw on film and asking him things I wish I could have asked him in those moments (is cool)… Now, we get to constantly pinball ideas off each other because I steal things from him as well.”

Who will be throwing Jeudy the ball remains to be determined as Drew Lock and Teddy Bridgewater battle for the starting job. And no matter who is named quarterback, Jeudy needs to have better chemistry with him this year than he did with Lock (and a couple other QBs) in 2020, as the wideout caught just 46% of his 113 targets.

But beyond the unknown at quarterback, another year in offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur’s system is likely to benefit Jeudy as well as fellow second-year speedster KJ Hamler.

“The biggest thing for me is the timing of plays,” Jeudy said. “You want to get a certain spot or a certain place at that exact timing. Knowing how to make the defender move to where you want him to be and getting to that spot at that timing of the play — that’s the biggest thing and that’s what I learned the most (as a rookie).”

Full stadium approved. The Broncos announced on their social media platforms Wednesday that they have been cleared to host full-capacity crowds at Empower Field this season. The lone preseason home game is Aug. 28 against the Los Angeles Rams and regular season home opener is Sept. 26 against the New York Jets.

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