Jerry Jeudy Traded to Cleveland

Breaking News! The Denver Broncos are trading Jerry Jeudy, the former first-round receiver, to the Cleveland Browns for a 2024 fifth and sixth-round pick. The Broncos drafted Jeudy in the 2020 NFL draft, 15th overall. After four mediocre seasons with the Broncos, he will head to Cleveland, hoping to revamp his career. It’s time to do a dynasty reaction to this trade and how it impacts Cleveland and the Broncos’ offense moving forward.

Cleveland Offense

Jerry Jeudy

Jeudy is getting a fresh start with the Cleveland Browns. He had four decent seasons with the Broncos, but it has not been easy. In four seasons with them, he played with six quarterbacks and three coaching regimes. His best season was in 2022 when he finished with 972 yards and six touchdowns. Jeudy wasn’t a part of good offenses for most of his career.

He dealt with drops in the early part of his career, with 18 career drops. He has missed time due to injuries, causing him only to play one full season in his career. Jeudy has never lived up to the big play ability that he showed in college. He has only been a top 45 fantasy receiver once in his career. It seems like Jeudy could be productive if given the workload and stable quarterback play.

In 2023, it was one of Jeudy’s worst seasons in his statistical career. He has lows in targets, receptions, yards, and touchdowns while playing in at least 15 games. He knows how to make yardage on his own. Jeudy had 43% of his yardage after the catch last season. Jeudy was in the top twelve in target separation. He is a solid slot receiver who can find separation from his defender. I still have issues with Jeudy’s ability to catch the ball. He is a body-catching receiver, which worries me about his long-term value in dynasty. He has a career 59.6% catch rate, which has hurt him and his below-average quarterback play.

It will be interesting to see what type of role Jeudy will play with the Browns. They didn’t give up much to get him, so they could cut ties with him if they don’t like what they see. Jeudy was the Broncos’ primary slot receiver last season, but I’m not sure if he will play that with the Browns. Elijah Moore, the previous receiver they traded for, played the slot last season. It will be interesting to see who will end up playing the slot, and if Jeudy doesn’t get it, he’ll most likely have to play outside. He has succeeded as the X receiver in his career, but Amari Cooper still controls that position. Over the years, his coaching staff has kept Jeudy inside where he fits better. 

He has some talent, but his situation didn’t get much better with the Browns. They are a team that loves to run the ball and still has question marks in the passing game. The Browns took a low investment for a player with one season of good production who has dealt with drops over his career.

Jeudy was already not valued very highly in Dynasty, as he is entering his last year of contract. He will be 25 years old with just one top-45 fantasy finish in his career. His quarterback situation seems like an improvement with DeShaun Watson, but his availability is a concern. Watson has played 12 games over the last three years from suspension and injury. If he misses more time, the quarterback situation behind him is very questionable. Jeudy is also going into a situation where Cooper is still there, and David Njoku is the second pass catcher on the team. This may be the perfect time to go out and try to sell high on Jeudy’s new situation.

Rest of the Offense

Watson isn’t getting a bump-up with Jeudy on the team. Jeudy has talent but hasn’t shown enough to push the needle and bump Watson in his rankings. Cooper and Njoku’s values don’t change either. It could quickly come down to Moore’s role with the offense moving forward.

Moore could be cut or pushed outside if the team gives Jeudy a chance in the slot. He has thrived better on the inside rather than on the outside. The team won’t be able to provide the upside that Moore and Jeudy may have in the offense. It could be a great time to buy Moore with the arrival of Jeudy to the offense. It may only take a fourth-round pick to get Moore now with Jeudy on the team. Other players like Cedric Tillman and David Bell have lost dynasty value. Tillman, who played on the outside, could still have some deep buy low value due to his ability to play outside.

Broncos Offense

While Jeudy lands in Cleveland, he leaves the Broncos offense with some holes to fill. The Broncos have a lot of question marks on their offense right now. The biggest winner to many will likely be Marvin Mims, last year’s second-round pick. Mims started hot with seven receptions for 195 yards and a touchdown over the first three games of his NFL career. For some reason, the Broncos did not want to use him to his full capacity during his rookie season. He would play minimal over the rest of the season with 15 receptions and 182 yards. 

Mims was a prospect I did like coming out of the 2023 NFL draft. He was a receiver with a vertical skill set and could produce yards after the catch. Jeudy only averaged 37% of the snaps in his first season. He could get a significant bump in his playing time in year two. It won’t be an easy time to buy right now since everyone likely will buy into the hype he offers. On the flip side, the Broncos could easily draft someone at nine, and they don’t have a trustworthy quarterback at the moment. If you don’t believe in his value, you could use this time to sell high on Mims. He is probably worth a mid-second-round pick in rookie drafts.

While everyone is focused on Mims, Courtland Sutton could also receive a bump in his production this year. He is still the WR1 on the team despite rumors of being cut this offseason. If Sutton sticks around Denver, he may still have a value worth buying into on the low. He is risky to buy but could pay off for a contender trying to find floor value at receiver. The team also brought back Tim Patrick, who hasn’t played in two years, on a one-year deal. It also could give him a chance to regain his value in the offense. You may not want to buy into two aging receivers on a poor offense with little upside. One of these receivers will likely have flex value despite the mediocre quarterback play in 2024. 

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