5 Broncos still on thin ice after surviving trade deadline

2. Is Jerry Jeudy really on "thin ice"?

I'm including Jerry Jeudy in this conversation because of the topic at hand. We're discussing Broncos who are on proverbial "thin ice" after the trade deadline, and Jerry Jeudy's name was the one that most consistently came up at the deadline. The Broncos picked up Jeudy's 5th-year option in the offseason after there were rumors about him being traded back then, so everything the team has done up to this point indicates that Jeudy is not nearly on as thin of ice as maybe the fan base perceives.

And therein lies the tension. It seems like the fan base in Denver doesn't understand that Jerry Jeudy is largely not to blame for the overall lack of production we've seen from him in his first four years in Denver. And I say all of that with a major asterisk. Despite the perception that Jeudy's production has lacked, he's still been among the best in Denver Broncos franchise history in their first 3-4 seasons in every major category.

Jeudy is a talent, and he's one of the Broncos' best overall playmakers. It's been frustrating to see the team's inability to consistently get him the football, because a higher volume of targets would seem to be beneficial for Denver's offense.

The struggle with Jeudy right now is what we saw against Kansas City. He capitalized on multiple opportunities he was given, catching a touchdown pass from Russell Wilson as well as going up and making one of the best plays we've seen from him as a Bronco downfield in a contested catch situation. Those were his only two catches in the game, and they were fantastic. But Jeudy was targeted five times in total. He was missed once on a flea flicker, missed another time when he was open on a slant, and there have been way too many times in his Broncos career where, if Jeudy doesn't maximize literally every opportunity he gets, we just don't know how many he'll really get.

I don't think Jeudy is on thin ice, but some in the fan base perceive him to be, and I would say wrongfully so.