The Denver Broncos wouldn't seriously consider trading wide receiver Jerry Jeudy after the 2022 season he had, would they? Fans in Broncos Country seem rather split on the idea, although it should only be an "overpay" from an inquiring team to get general manager George Paton and head coach Sean Payton to say "yes" to a deal.
Why would the Denver Broncos consider trading Jeudy? Well, this is technically the "final" year of his rookie contract. The Broncos will have the chance to exercise their fifth-year option on Jeudy in the coming weeks which means he could have two years left on his rookie deal. If he were to hit free agency today, Spotrac.com calculates his market value at over $20 million annually. Jeudy's fifth-year option would come in at just under $13 million, which is certainly a fair price for his services given the Broncos' inconsistencies at this point, but his contract situation could end up pushing the Broncos closer to a trade if they don't view him as a long-term piece.
Jeudy has dealt with injuries the past two seasons, including a high-ankle sprain that cost him six games in 2021. He had a rib injury in 2022 that cost him most of the Broncos' game against the Houston Texans and an ankle issue again that cost him most of the game against the Titans later in the season.
Still, durability is not really a concern for Jeudy. He has missed some time, but is it a reason to trade him away? Probably not.
A lot of Broncos fans seem to think that it's still 2020 as well. One of the primary complaints with Jeudy is dropped passes, which was an issue for him back in his rookie season. He was credited with 10 dropped passes that year and a drop percentage of almost nine percent. It was a clear issue then, but in his last 156 targets (25 games), Jeudy has just six drops, good for a drop percentage of 3.8 percent.
Last season, players that had a drop percentage over 3.8 percent includes so many prominent players we don't have time to go through them all. It's better than Ja'Marr Chase, Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce, Deebo Samuel, and Jeudy's own teammate in Denver, Courtland Sutton (8.3 percent).
Teams inquiring about trading for Jerry Jeudy might look at the trajectory he's been on the last couple of years and see someone who is ready to take the next step into stardom as an NFL player. Jeudy's only going to be 24 in April, and he has a dynamic skill set that includes elite route running and separation abilities, after-the-catch abilities, and as we've seen the past couple of seasons -- improved hands.
The only way the Denver Broncos could really justify trading a way a promising young player at a struggling position for the team is if they get a fantastic deal in return. Let's look at some trades they might actually consider.
Denver Broncos trade scenarios with Jerry Jeudy in 2023
1. Jerry Jeudy to the Patriots for a 2023 1st-round pick (14th overall)
One of the only ways you could really consider trading away a player like Jerry Jeudy is for prime NFL Draft real estate, which the Denver Broncos didn't have in 2022 and they don't have again in 2023. Going two full NFL Draft classes without top-tier capital can hurt your roster in the long-term because you need building blocks on rookie deals as often as you can get them.
The Broncos have made substantial investments in the likes of Russell Wilson and Sean Payton, to the point that they now won't have a first-round pick in consecutive years (2022, 2023) as well as no second-round picks in consecutive years (2023, 2024).
Getting a pick like no. 14 overall in this year's draft would be extremely interesting. Broncos fans haven't really given a ton of thought to the best fits of first-round prospects in this year's draft because of the fact that the team only owned a first-rounder (from the Dolphins) for a couple of months before trading it away to get Sean Payton.
Getting the 14th overall pick would significantly open up this team's options in terms of perhaps looking at defensive line help, a left tackle for the future, maybe trading down and getting into both the first and second rounds...
But would the Patriots pay this price? I just don't know how the Broncos could justify moving Jeudy for anything less than this. When you look at the Patriots, they have an obvious need at receiver on the outside, even after acquiring guys like JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mike Gesicki in free agency. Bill O'Brien is coming over from Alabama to coach the Patriots' offense, and Mac Jones had great chemistry with Jeudy when the two were at Alabama together.
What players could the Patriots get to help their offense better than Jerry Jeudy at pick no. 14?
2. Jerry Jeudy to the Dallas Cowboys for a 1st-round pick (27th overall) and WR Jalen Tolbert
Back in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Denver Broncos shockingly found themselves with a chance to draft any of three big-time receiver prospects when they were on the clock with the 15th overall pick. The options included Jeudy, CeeDee Lamb, and Justin Jefferson.
The Broncos picked Jeudy, and just a couple of picks later, both CeeDee Lamb and Justin Jefferson flew off the board to the Cowboys and Vikings, respectively.
The Cowboys made a foolish decision in the 2022 offseason to trade away Amari Cooper for basically nothing, and they could have used him down the stretch last season. CeeDee Lamb can't do it on his own out there for Dallas and now the Cowboys could make a bold move to really go and get a player like Jeudy, who could help keep CeeDee Lamb in favorable situations as well as add another explosive element to their offensive attack.
The Cowboys had to say goodbye to Ezekiel Elliott this offseason. They are saying goodbye to Dalton Schultz. Again I ask the question -- who are the Cowboys going to get at pick no. 26 overall that's better than Jerry Jeudy?
The answer: Nobody.
The Cowboys invest their first-round picks as well as anyone in the NFL and this would undoubtedly be a great investment of the pick they currently have. You get Jeudy on the final two years of his rookie deal. You give the Broncos a first-round pick and reset the clock on a talented young receiver with Jalen Tolbert coming back to Denver in the deal as well.
In order for the Broncos to say goodbye to Jeudy, I'm not sure just the 26th pick is going to get it done. If you add a player like Tolbert to sweeten the deal, you might have something the Broncos would say "yes" to.
3. Jerry Jeudy to the Cleveland Browns for a WR and the 42nd pick
This deal is one that obviously doesn't include a first-round pick, because the Cleveland Browns don't have one. The Deshaun Watson trade depleted this team of first-round picks, but they need help at the wide receiver position in a big way.
The Broncos could look at an opportunity here to squeeze even more draft capital out of the Browns and add to what is only a five-pick NFL Draft class at the present moment, or they could do something similar to what was discussed in the aforementioned Cowboys trade scenario where you have a pick and a player (or multiple players) going back to Denver.
Anthony Schwartz is someone Browns fans seemingly can't wait to get rid of, and he might be an interesting dart throw in Sean Payton's offense. When someone has that combination of size and speed, you never know.
David Bell is a more recent draft choice and someone that a lot of Denver Broncos fans liked in last year's process. He could be an interesting flyer with three more years on his rookie deal as well.
Ultimately, the primary goal is to get the best draft capital possible, and if you can get the 42nd and 111th picks out of the Browns, that could be extremely valuable to the Denver Broncos. Again, though -- more valuable than Jerry Jeudy? How would the Broncos themselves replace him?
In each of these scenarios, we've explored what the teams would be able to do with their draft capital in place versus Jerry Jeudy, but the same question really applies to the Denver Broncos. Are the Broncos in better shape if they wait a year or wait seven months to try and trade Jeudy again? Will his value go up or down over time?
There are so many variables with a deal like this but we know the Broncos want to add draft capital, and it seems like they are listening if teams are willing to make the right kinds of offers, even on some of their best and most talented players.