Denver Broncos best offensive player ready to roll in Week 2

Denver Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy appears to be ready to roll for the team's Week 2 matchup against the Washington Commanders, and his arrival could be exactly what an ailing offense needs. The Broncos suffered a painful 16-17 loss in Week 1 against the Las Vegas Raiders after suffering a loss to open the 2022 season in Seattle by the exact same score.

Sean Payton's offense doesn't exactly require a specific player to filter everything through, but there's no doubt that the war on attrition had already taken its toll on the Broncos' wide receiver position prior to Jerry Jeudy going down at training camp with a hamstring injury. Tim Patrick suffered an Achilles injury that cost him the 2023 season. Former second-round pick KJ Hamler had to be waived with a non-football illness designation due to a heart condition. Jalen Virgil suffered a season-ending knee injury in the preseason. The team's primary free agent acquisition at the position -- Marquez Callaway -- was a bust.

These losses were compounded by the Broncos trading away Albert Okwuegbunam and losing Greg Dulcich to a hamstring injury in the Week 1 loss to the Raiders.

Losing Jerry Jeudy was not just a typical in-season inconvenience. Last year, Jeudy went from being part of what appeared to be a deep WR corps at the beginning of the season to being the top playmaker on the roster overall, and it wasn't particularly close. Jeudy has yet to have what people perceive to be a true "breakout" season but what he brings to the table for the Denver Broncos is obvious at this point.

Jeudy is one of the fastest players on the team. He's the Denver Broncos' best playmaker after the catch. He's obviously known for being a tremendous route runner and creating separation with ease, but that type of quickness comes through in every area of his game.

There still seem to be sects of fans in Broncos Country that think Jeudy is prone to dropping passes, which is simply not the case. This isn't 2020 anymore. Jeudy's drop percentage of 5.0 percent is not even sniffing the top of the league when it comes to that particular statistic. He's become a true go-to type of receiver whose full skill set still has yet to be fully unlocked at the NFL level due to a combination of horrible QB play and injuries.

But in Week 2 against the Commanders, Jeudy can obviously be a major factor. And he's going to be unleashed without limitations.

Although every NFL team goes through bouts with injuries, the Denver Broncos have a rather slim injury report heading into Week 2 and Jeudy was carted off the field only a handful of weeks ago. What looked like a devastating injury at camp turned into a relatively short-term issue for Jeudy, who was already practicing on a limited basis last week and working out pre-game with a chance to play.

It's a testament to Beau Lowery and the training staff, who also are working on getting Greg Dulcich back as quickly as possible. Dulcich also suffered a hamstring injury in Week 1, and the Broncos didn't put him on short-term IR, so they clearly feel he can be back in just a couple of weeks.

But for now, the addition of Jeudy back into the lineup gives the Denver Broncos offense another layer. He is not only a player who can stretch the field and keep a defense honest, but he's also the type of player that can turn your short passing game into an explosive play.