This former Alabama Crimson Tide star has certainly seen better days in the NFL.
When Jerry Jeudy departed the University of Alabama in 2020, there were sky-high expectations for the talented wide receiver.
Jeudy was selected by the Denver Broncos with the 15th overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft, and given that he had just posted back-to-back 1,000-yard campaigns with the Crimson Tide, topping out at 1,315 on 19.3 yards per catch in 2018, the prevailing thought was that Jeudy would become a tremendous playmaker on the professional level.
Well, Jeudy ended up struggling mightily over four seasons with the Broncos, ultimately leading to Denver trading him to the Cleveland Browns before 2024.
The Browns signed Jeudy to a three-year extension upon acquiring him, and he lived up to it in Year 1, hauling in 90 receptions for 1,229 yards and four touchdowns en route to his first Pro Bowl appearance. And that came in spite of Cleveland's disastrous quarterback situation.
It finally appeared as if Jeudy had shaken off his demons and had actually broken out as a top receiver, but fast forward to 2025, and it's looking more and more like 2024 was a mirage.
The 26-year-old is in the middle of a nightmarish campaign, and his open-field fumble against the Las Vegas Raiders this past Sunday epitomized how things have gone for Jeudy this season.
Jeudy has caught 32 passes for 395 yards and a score in 11 games and owns a catch rate of 42.1 percent, by far the lowest of his career and well below his lifetime average of 57.7 percent.
Yes, the Browns' circumstances under center have been far less than ideal once again, but that didn't seem to stop Jeudy last year.
So what exactly is the issue?
Perhaps Jeudy's terrific 2024 campaign really was just an outlier. After all, he had never logged 1,000 yards in any of his four seasons in Denver, although he came close with 972 yards in 15 games back in 2022. Still, his tenure in the Mile High City was marked by inconsistency, and the same thing appears to be occurring in Cleveland.
Over the last two games, Jeudy has managed just four catches on 10 targets. He doesn't have a single 100-yard performance to his name this year, with his best showing coming in Week 10 when he snared six balls for 78 yards and a score against the New York Jets.
At this point, it seems pretty clear that Jeudy just isn't a No. 1 receiver, even though he was so dominant during his time at Tuscaloosa. The Deerfield Beach, Fl. native averaged 17.2 yards per catch in three seasons at Alabama. He was so impressive that he was drafted ahead of LSU's Justin Jefferson, who is on pace to become one of the best wide receivers ever.
Jeudy has proven he can be a very productive weapon in the right situation, but it now looks pretty obvious that he is a No. 2.