After plenty of rumors and speculation dating back to the middle of the 2022 season, the Denver Broncos finally traded wide receiver Jerry Jeudy to the Cleveland Browns in the 2024 offseason in exchange for a pair of Day 3 draft picks. The Broncos received 5th and 6th-round picks in exchange for Jeudy, picks they used to move up for wide receiver Troy Franklin in the 4th round of the 2024 NFL Draft.
The Broncos recently welcomed Jeudy back to the Mile High City as the Cleveland Browns came to town for a Monday Night Football showdown. And the Broncos were a little too welcoming. Jeudy had a career night, racking up 235 yards, a touchdown, and a two-point conversion on nine receptions. It's the most receiving yards a player has ever had against their former team in the NFL.
Thankfully, the Denver Broncos won the game and improved to 8-5 on the season, but the last month or so has made one thing very clear: The Broncos lost the Jerry Jeudy trade with Cleveland.
Broncos could have thrived with Jerry Jeudy in 2024 offense
With his recent explosion of production over the last five weeks, Jeudy has emerged as the 5th-leading receiver in the entire NFL, 4th among wide receivers (Raiders TE Brock Bowers ranks 4th in the league in receiving yards).
Jeudy's 880 receiving yards are only 17 away from being in the top three in the NFL so far this season. Since Jameis Winston has taken over as the Browns' quarterback, Jeudy has thrived.
And we obviously saw that fully on display in his return to Denver.
With the way Bo Nix and the Broncos' passing game has evolved and improved over the course of the 2024 season, it's hard not to wonder what this offense could be like if Jeudy was still part of it. Of course, Jeudy wanted to be traded and he got a new contract from the Browns. The Broncos held onto Jeudy at last year's deadline, which indicated they perhaps had an interest in keeping him, but Jeudy said in the lead-up to his revenge game that he wanted to be traded because the Broncos weren't winning and he wasn't getting as involved as he felt he should be.
The fact that Jeudy plays a position where the Broncos have clearly needed help all year and is only 25 years old. The extension he got from the Browns wasn't overly prohibitive and the only reason the Broncos likely agreed to trade him away is because he didn't want to be there anymore.
In the end, it feels like both Jeudy and the Broncos won the battle and lost the war. From Denver's perspective, they beat the Browns on Monday Night Football (which is very important) but they have had a void at receiver which Jeudy could have capably filled now and into the future for their young quarterback.
For Jeudy, he got his wish of getting out of Denver and into a favorable situation to put up great statistics, but he's back on a losing team while the Broncos are on the cusp of a playoff berth in 2024. I guess in the NFL, you live and you learn all the time.