Jerry Jeudy Traded to Browns, Fantasy Impact

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The Denver Broncos continued their makeover Saturday, trading WR Jerry Jeudy to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for fifth- and a sixth-round picks in this year’s draft. That’s a very disappointing return on investment for a player Denver selected 15th overall in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Jeudy entered the league with quite a bit of hype following a standout college career under Nick Saban in Alabama. While he showed promise in his rookie season with 856 yards on 52 catches, injuries and middling play led Jeudy to zero 1,000-yard seasons over his four years in Denver. His best fantasy season came in 2022 when he finished as WR22. Otherwise, he’s been largely disappointing.

In Cleveland, he’ll join a run-heavy scheme with a clear No. 1 receiver in Amari Cooper. But let’s be clear Jeudy isn’t the heir apparent to Cooper. Rather, this trade is a clear indictment of Elijah Moore. Jeudy spent 54% of his routes in the slot last season for the Broncos. Previous to this trade, Moore was penciled in as the Browns’ slot receiver. Expect Cleveland to roll with a trio of Cooper and Cedric Tillman on the perimeter with Jeudy in the slot. 

While it’s encouraging for Jeudy to remain a starting wideout, this is not the best landing spot to revitalize his fantasy outlook. Cleveland is a run-heavy team with a well-established No. 1 receiver. And it isn’t fair to just slot Jeudy in as the No. 2 target, as TE David Njoku established himself as a bona fide threat in the passing game last season. The Browns also have Deshaun Watson under center. Despite major success in his time with the Texans, Waston has floundered so far in Cleveland.

As for Jeudy’s previous team, the Broncos have now cut bait on two of their top skill position players. Russell Wilson will be released at league new year March 13. That move creates a major vacuum at starting quarterback. Denver has now also thinned out their wide receiver room. Courtland Sutton remains in place with Marvin Mims and Tim Patrick expected to round out the starting trio. The good news for Denver is they did add back some draft capital in this trade. But it’s clear that Denver has a lot of work to do in free agency and the draft.