Is Jerry Jeudy finally about to have the breakout year fans have been clamoring for since he was drafted? Pro Football Focus seems to think so.
Back in 2020, there was a lot of hype surrounding Jeudy when the Denver Broncos selected him in the first round of that year’s NFL Draft. Although he’s shown glimpses of elite play in his first two seasons, he hasn’t been able to live up to the expectations.
In a recent piece, PFF highlighted which players going into their third season will have a breakout year for fantasy football in 2022.
They described Jeudy as, “The best combination of proven ability and projected volume among third-year wide receivers yet to break out.“
PFF noted that Jeudy has been a disappointment through two seasons but highlighted why they are still optimistic. They said, “Jeudy put some truly mesmerizing route-running ability on tape as a rookie before underwhelming in 2021. Still, Denver’s quarterback play was far from ideal, and Jeudy was never fully healthy after suffering a Grade 3 high ankle sprain in Week 1.”
Although it’s still hard to believe, Jeudy went the entire 2021 season without a touchdown. He finished as the 95th-ranked fantasy wide receiver in 2021. However, after two seasons of Drew Lock and Teddy Bridgewater, he will finally get to play with an elite quarterback in Russell Wilson. PFF currently has Jeudy listed as WR27 for the upcoming season.
“Enter Russell Wilson, who is one of just ten quarterbacks to have enabled multiple top-12 PPR wide receivers in a single season over the past decade.”
PFF also believes that Tim Patrick’s devastating season-ending ACL tear will give Jeudy more opportunities and force the team to utilize him more.
“The Tim Patrick (ACL) injury is truly unfortunate for one of the game’s more underrated talents, but it does make three-WR sets awfully clear between Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, and K.J. Hamler. It’s fair to give Jeudy the lead over the latter receiver in two-WR sets, given Hamler’s recent return from the physically unable to perform (PUP) list while recovering from last season’s nasty ACL tear and hip dislocation.”
Not only does PFF think that Jeudy will have the best fantasy season of his career, they believe he has the potential to be the team’s No. 1 receiver.
“Jeudy is worth strong fantasy consideration in the middle rounds due to his upside to work as an upside WR1 should he become Wilson’s favorite target.”
They ultimately marked Jeudy with: “Verdict: Third-year breakout feels inevitable. Buying.”