No Denver Broncos player may feel the impact of Russell Wilson more than Jerry Jeudy

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Jerry Jeudy had zero touchdowns final season with the Denver Broncos, who averaged fewer than 20 factors per sport for the fifth consecutive season as their seek for an answer at quarterback continued.

A touchdown-less Jeudy was not the plan when the Broncos chosen him within the first spherical of the 2020 draft out of Alabama, the place he scored 24 occasions throughout his last two seasons. With that in thoughts, no participant on the Broncos’ roster could profit extra from quarterback Russell Wilson’s arrival than Jeudy, who appears to know as a lot.

“There are issues you possibly can management and issues you possibly can’t management,” stated Jeudy, who caught most of his passes from Drew Lock or Teddy Bridgewater throughout his first two NFL seasons. “These first two years are gone now, so I am simply targeted on this 12 months.”

Jeudy had really supplied a glimpse of his promise in final season’s opener. He had 72 yards receiving on six catches, with just below 9 minutes remaining within the third quarter in opposition to the New York Giants when he suffered a excessive proper ankle sprain on a deal with by James Bradberry.

He was taken to the locker room on a cart, missed the following six video games and by no means actually recovered that momentum because the Broncos offense grew to become a mish-mash of ill-fitting items in an typically ill-fitting scheme. Enter Wilson, who arrived with loads of fanfare, massive plans and a pedal-to-the-metal strategy from his first moments within the Broncos’ advanced.

Wilson has already seen for himself what Jeudy can do. In the course of the Broncos’ voluntary veteran minicamp final month, a number of gamers stated Wilson’s on-field reference to Jeudy was straightforward to see.

“A man like Jerry Jeudy — simply being round him — we have had some wonderful discussions and a few wonderful talks,” Wilson stated. “We have put the additional work in.”

“He might assist me rather a lot, he is a terrific quarterback, a Corridor of Fame quarterback that got here to the offense as a pacesetter,” Jeudy stated. “[He is] getting me higher as effectively. He will assist me rather a lot this 12 months. … Simply the vitality. [He’s] at all times uplifting guys and at all times motivating guys to go on the market and hold working onerous … he is the man that comes up and will get your thoughts proper for it.”

The Broncos have not precisely been the “large receiver heaven” Emmanuel Sanders as soon as described in the course of the Peyton Manning period. They’ve had a turnstile at quarterback and 4 completely different offensive coordinators over the previous 5 years.

Throughout that point the Broncos have had one large receiver — Courtland Sutton in 2019 — end with no less than 1,000 yards and tight finish Noah Fant — now with the Seattle Seahawks — led the workforce in receptions in every of the previous two years. Final season, the workforce’s high three large receivers — Sutton, Jeudy and Tim Patrick — completed with a mixed seven touchdowns (5 of these coming from Patrick), or 9 fewer than league chief Cooper Kupp of the Los Angeles Rams.

After the season, Broncos basic supervisor George Paton, who signed each Sutton and Patrick to contract extensions in November, was crystal clear that enchancment wanted to be made throughout the board on offense. He was particularly clear concerning the receivers, who he stated “should be higher and we have to do every little thing we will to get the very best out of them, all of us need that, however there is not any query they should be higher.”

Jeudy’s scoreless season, although he continued to indicate elite route-running chops that persistently created room for him to work, was marred by some drops. Jeudy was visibly annoyed at occasions enjoying in an offense that scored 13 or fewer factors in 5 of the workforce’s last eight video games.

Wilson has pushed all through the workforce’s early on-field work this offseason for “game-altering performs” within the passing sport.

“I name them hole performs,” Wilson stated. “It is three or 4 performs, or possibly only one or two that change the sport and the situational consciousness of that. The place did the sport shift? The place did the sport change? That was an enormous a part of it for me. What have been the strengths and what are possibly the areas of enchancment?”