The Lead
As Jerry Jeudy prepares to join his idols in the NFL, he outlined which five wideouts he thinks are the best in the league in an interview on Complex’s “Load Management” podcast.
Coming in at No. 1 was Julio Jones, who was named a member of the NFL's All-2010s Team earlier this year.
"Everybody knows Julio Jones is the best," Jeudy said.
Jeudy then named Antonio Brown ("You can't take him out of the picture," Jeudy said) and Michael Thomas as his Nos. 2 and 3, respectively.
Former Alabama receivers were quite well represented in Jeudy's top five, with Amari Cooper and Calvin Ridley rounding out the group.
"Yeah, that's kind of biased, I'm not going to lie," Jeudy said. "But Amari Cooper's been one of my favorite players."
Jeudy, who made sure to emphasize that his judgment was based largely on personal taste instead and not just stats, later elaborated on his respect for Cooper when he said the fellow Crimson Tide product was the best route-runner in the league.
"I love the way he runs his routes, the techniques he uses, knows how to manipulate the defenders," Jeudy said. "Yeah, I'll give it to Amari Cooper. But Keenan Allen's really good too."
Hailed as the top route-runner in the 2020 NFL Draft — and perhaps the best in recent history — Jeudy named several other receivers he studied and admires, too.
"Me, I'm a route-runner, so I really look up to guys who really run routes," Jeudy said, "like Amari Cooper, Calvin Ridley, Keenan Allen, Stefon Diggs, Davante Adams, Cooper Kupp, guys who really focus on their craft and route-running."
Below the Fold
Speaking of Jeudy, the Athletic asked its NFL reporters to name each team’s next star player, and Nicki Jhabvala (now working for The Washington Post) selected the first-round pick. "Jeudy appears more like a seasoned veteran than a fresh-faced rookie," she wrote. "… And his precision, speed and ability to change directions on a dime should make him an instant threat in an offense that plans to take more shots down field."
ESPN's countdown of the top 10 players at each position (as ranked by NFL coaches and executives, scouts and players) moved on to safeties last week, and Justin Simmons clocked in at No. 7. He made all 50 voters' ballots and earned individual rankings as high as second and as low as eighth. "He's so versatile because he can go down in the slot and do work for you, he can still play the deep half, and he's a talented blitzer," one NFL coordinator told ESPN. "Denver has a guy they should keep for a long time."
