After Steve Smith tiff, Jerry Jeudy trying to prove he's more than 'just a guy'

JERRY JEUDY STOOD several yards away from an NFL Network set in Kansas City before the Denver Broncos' Week 6 game against the Chiefs last October.

At the desk that day was former NFL wide receiver Steve Smith, who was on-air for the pregame show. The five-time Pro Bowler had criticized Jeudy's play before the season on his podcast, referring to him as a "J.A.G.," short for "just a guy," a term used to refer to an average player. Having heard Smith's criticism that summer, Jeudy, pacing back and forth on the field behind, yelled in Smith's direction multiple times, which led Smith to double down on his assessment of Jeudy on air.

"I'm sorry that I said you were a J.A.G., just a guy who's an average wide receiver they used a first-round pick on that isn't doing anything," Smith said. "I hope today that you actually show up in a way that you haven't showed up in the last couple years since they drafted you. ... I'm sorry, for saying that you're an average wide receiver that they will eventually move on (from).

"And when teams call me and ask should they trade for you, I will say, 'No,' don't trade for Jerry Jeudy, because he's mentally unable to handle constructive criticism ... He can be a wide receiver. He's a Tier 3."

Jeudy finished the season with the second-fewest receiving yards in his career (758) and the Broncos traded him, as Smith speculated, to the Cleveland Browns for a 2024 fifth- and sixth-round pick in March after Jeudy asked out of Denver.

In his fifth season, Jeudy is still working to be more than "just a guy" and live up to the potential that made him the No. 15 overall pick in the 2020 draft. He was a blue-chip recruit in South Florida when he signed for Alabama, where he won the 2018 Biletnikoff Award playing alongside three other future first-round receivers -- DeVonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle and Henry Ruggs -- with the Crimson Tide.

But in the NFL, Jeudy has struggled. He's watched draft mates Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb and Brandon Aiyuk, all of whom were drafted after him in the first round, amass 1,000-yard seasons and sign lucrative extensions while he has struggled.

Over the past month, however, the 25-year-old has been one of the league's most productive receivers, putting him on the verge of his first 1,000-yard receiving season. He ranks fourth in receiving yards per game (94.8) since Week 8 and has established himself as the Browns' best after they traded Amari Cooper in mid-October. On Monday night, he returns to Denver to face the Broncos (8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN), the team that traded him away, for the first time.

"I didn't really circle [the game] in my mind," Jeudy told ESPN two weeks ago. "I'm taking each game day by day, week by week. But of course that's my past team. So you want to be able to ball against them. That's every competitor for real."

JEUDY DESCRIBED HIS four seasons with the Broncos as "frustrating."

When asked to reflect on the Smith incident, he said he wished the former receiver was more empathetic to his situation in Denver.

"The only reason it's annoying is just that, especially a receiver like Steve Smith, he understands that you're only as good as your quarterback, as your line and as your playcaller," Jeudy said. "No matter how good you are, no matter how open you get, if you don't get the ball, it don't really matter. You can look at the numbers and say, 'Oh, he don't got the numbers to compare to other guys.'

"But when you put on tape, how many times you see me open? Or how many times do you see me open and not get the ball?"

Jeudy said the lack of continuity at quarterback and within the coaching staff never allowed him to get comfortable. The Broncos started six quarterbacks and had four head coaches and three offensive coordinators while Jeudy was in Denver.

"My rookie year, I had a few drops. That was the biggest thing," Jeudy told ESPN in late November. "But the years after that, I feel like I wasn't getting that many opportunities to showcase my talent with all these different OCs and different schemes and stuff like that. So I couldn't really show my abilities and show my route-running skills.

"It just wasn't a fit for me."

In four seasons in Denver, Jeudy caught 211 passes for 3,053 yards and 11 touchdowns amid frequent periods of inconsistency, whether it be drops or games with little production.

Jeudy sought a change in scenery, telling ESPN that he requested a trade for two straight years. The Browns attempted to trade for Jeudy before last year's trade deadline. In March, the two sides finalized the deal.

Denver needed draft picks to rebuild the roster after taking on an historic dead cap charge by releasing quarterback Russell Wilson, which made the trade more palatable.

"It just wasn't working over there," Jeudy told ESPN. "I felt like I was a way better player than they used me as. I wanted to go somewhere that would use me, see my full potential and take advantage of it."

Jeudy signed a three-year, $58 million extension days after being traded to the Browns but it was a tier below the top-of-the-market receiver deals given to draft mates.

"It's never bad to have security," Jeudy said. "You don't really know how the season is going to go. Of course I wanted to bet on myself but as a receiver, there's a lot you've got to depend on."

IN JEUDY, THE Browns got a player they coveted dating back to the draft. A team source said Cleveland valued Jeudy's elite route running opposite Cooper and saw his extension, averaging $17.5 million a year, as a bargain for a player with his pedigree. But as the Browns' new-look offense with quarterback Deshaun Watson floundered, Jeudy had little impact. In the first seven games of the season, he averaged 38 yards per game and caught one touchdown pass.

Late in the third quarter of the Browns' Week 7 game against the Cincinnati Bengals, a point at which Jeudy had seen zero targets and just watched a pass sail errantly over his head, he walked to the sideline and slammed his helmet into the bench in frustration. Days later, Jeudy apologized for not channeling his anger in a more productive manner.

"No reason," Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said when asked why Jeudy caught one pass. "He should touch the ball."

The Browns' trade of Cooper bumped Jeudy to the No. 1 wide receiver spot. And with quarterback Jameis Winston taking over for the injured Watson, who posted the lowest QBR in the NFL before tearing his right Achilles tendon in Week 7, Jeudy has gotten the consistent opportunities he's desired since coming to Cleveland.

The Browns collapsed in the fourth quarter of a 35-14 loss to the New Orleans Saints in Week 11, but Jeudy delivered his most productive game of the season: a six-catch, 142-yard performance that included an 89-yard touchdown. It was Jeudy's first 100-yard game since Week 18 of the 2022 season.

Four days later in Cleveland's upset win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Jeudy caught all six of his targets for a game-high 85 yards, including multiple tough receptions amid the snowy elements. They were the types of catches he was criticized for not making in Denver.

"We know he can wiggle open, he can run away from people," Stefanski said, "but when you can make those contested catches, you become a very difficult guy to cover for the defense."

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND football coach Mike Locksley, who was the offensive coordinator at Alabama in 2017 and 2018, called Jeudy one of the most gifted route runners he's seen.

"Jerry has the ability to run routes that look like artwork," Locksley said.

But as Jeudy trained last offseason, he wanted to be a more complete -- and consistent -- receiver, according to Locksley. That included working on his conditioning to ensure that he could play the high-level snaps required of a top option.

"He is embracing the entire part of being a football player," Winston said. "And I think Jerry Jeudy is one of the best football players I've played with."

Jeudy has recorded at least 70 receiving yards in four straight games, the longest streak in his career. He leads the Browns in targets (78), catches (45) and receptions (645) and is on pace for career highs in all three categories.

"The attributes of a No. 1 receiver is to get open, be able to make plays after the catch," Winston said. "Look at Jerry Jeudy. If you look at Jerry Jeudy and you see the things that he does, he gets open. He runs after the catch, and he fights for the football."

On an aging roster that has disappointed with a 3-8 record this season, Jeudy's emergence has been a positive. The Browns' hope when bringing Jeudy in was that he could develop into a top passing option behind Cooper and Pro Bowl tight end David Njoku, which became a necessity with the departure of Cooper. And Jeudy's hope is that his recent surge is a sign of things to come.

"As a receiver, to get in a groove, you've got to consistently get the ball," Jeudy said. "The last couple weeks, they've been giving me opportunities. ...Now that I'm getting opportunities, I'm getting into a groove and a rhythm. Now, it's only up from here."