In a quarterback-dominant lead, wide receivers have become some of the most valuable assets to NFL franchises searching for that final piece before embarking on a Super Bowl run.
The Texans, fresh off a surprise run to the AFC Divisional round, stunned the league by acquiring Stefon Diggs from the Bills, one of the best receivers in the league. The Bears, who've all but had Caleb Williams since the 2023 season ended, went out and added veteran receiver Keenan Allen to man a pass-catching group that now has Rome Oduze and D.J. Moore.
But the Browns took a flier move on Jerry Jeudy, a trade that garnered attention for being one of the most impactful trades of this NFL offseason. NFL Network's Tom Blair rated it as the third-most impactful trade any team made, right before the Giants acquisition of Brian Burns from the Panthers.
Jeudy, a former first-round pick by the Broncos in 2020 out of Alabama, looked to be one of the next big wide receiver stars in the league when he came into it. Since then, it's been a fairly underwhelming career for Jeudy. He wasn't finding the end zone and came closest to a 1,000-yard season in 2022, his best statistical year. That was also a season his catch rate of just 67% dipped to 101st in the league among qualified receivers.
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This past season, after the Broncos picked up his fifth-year option, was simply a disaster. A hamstring injury to open the year caused him to miss the Wee 1. Jeudy got into a public spat with Steve Smith Sr. and had the worst catch rate since his rookie campaign while catching just two touchdowns.
Yet, the Browns, needing to tack on another piece to a receiving group that quickly thins out after Amari Cooper and David Njoku, went out and got Jeudy for a 2024 fifth and sixth-round pick. The return fostered questions on whether Denver simply dumped him or if that's all they could get for a once high-potential receiver that had yet to pan out.
What makes this trade so impactful for the Browns is that they almost immediately inked a three-year, $58 million extension with him, guaranteeing him $41 million. They did that as a franchise that's already shelling out $250 million for Deshaun Watson, still needs to extend key contributors like Cooper and cornerback Greg Newsome, and has already spent this entire offseason restructuring contracts.
Jeudy needs to pan out as a Brown, not to justify the pick capital they gave up for him, but because of what the team will look like if other players get the axe due to this contract. The Browns hope something clicks with Jeudy under Cooper and new voices. If it works out, Cleveland added a young receiver with big play potential for pennies on the dollar.
