The Lead
Despite an uneven start to his Broncos tenure, second-year wide receiver Jerry Jeudy could be in line for a redemptive sophomore season. Heading into training camp, ESPN.com has ranked Jeudy as the second-most likely second-year player to have a breakout season in 2021.
In his first season in orange and blue, Jeudy struggled with drops at times, landing in the bottom five wide receivers with a minimum of 25 targets with a 17.1% drop rate, according to Seth Galina of Pro Football Focus.
Those receiving struggles do not fall solely on Jeudy's shoulders, however. Inconsistency at quarterback in 2020 also contributed to the receiving game occasionally falling flat, as "Jeudy led the league in targets that were incomplete via a quarterback-fault error (28)," according to Galina and PFF.
Despite his initial struggles, Jeudy showed immense potential as an offensive weapon as a rookie. Jeudy led the team with 856 receiving yards and ranked fifth among rookies in the same category. He finished the season on a high note, as he posted a career-high 140 yards in Week 17 against the Raiders. Jeudy's 92-yard score in that game was the longest touchdown of the season.
This season, his talents will be strengthened by the return of fellow wideout Courtland Sutton, who missed the majority of the 2020 season with an injury. Sutton's return will give the Broncos two explosive weapons on the outside and should free Jeudy up to make a bigger impact in 2021.
"If those numbers -- quarterback-fault incompletions and drop rate -- regress toward average," Galina said, "Jeudy is in line for a great 2021 season."
Below the Fold
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Peyton Manning and Brock Osweiler were among those to remember the late Greg Knapp in Peter King's column on Monday morning. The former Broncos quarterback coach tragically passed away on Thursday.
