When the Broncos selected Jerry Jeudy in the first round, John Elway said he was the top wide receiver prospect on their board. But as the season comes to a close, the results have been lukewarm at best.
Jeudy has caught 47 passes for 716 yards, which aren’t bad numbers, but there have been too many miscues and not enough big plays. He’s scored only 2 TDs. Sunday’s game against the Chargers was his worst, with 5 dropped passes, including one at the end that would have set up the team for a close-range field goal to tie it.
The Broncos have had him in the starting lineup all along, and they’ve fired a decent number of balls his way. (He saw 15 targets on Sunday.) But they haven’t been connecting on enough of them. For the season, he’s caught only 47 of the 106 passes thrown his way.
In the past 20 years, 35 other rookie wide receivers have seen at least 100 targets in their first season. Only two caught a lower rate of those pass attempts. (One of them, at least, was Greg Jennings, who went on to have a great career.)
Three other rookie wide receivers selected within 20 picks of Jeudy also have been used heavily, and they’ve all had a lot more success – Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb and Tee Higgins.
Catch rate isn’t everything, of course. Jeudy’s tended to run more downfield routes, which has played a role in him having a lower hit rate on passes. And he’s been working with a modest quarterback. But early returns aren’t great on a player that many considered to be a safe, solid receiving prospect.
| ROOKIE RECEIVERS: CATCH PERCENTAGES | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Tgt | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Pct |
| 2016 | Michael Thomas, N.O. | 121 | 92 | 1,137 | 12.4 | 9 | 76.0% |
| 2014 | Jarvis Landry, Mia. | 112 | 84 | 758 | 9.0 | 5 | 75.0% |
| 2008 | Eddie Royal, Den. | 129 | 91 | 980 | 10.8 | 5 | 70.5% |
| 2014 | Odell Beckham, NYG | 130 | 91 | 1,305 | 14.3 | 12 | 70.0% |
| 2020 | • Justin Jefferson, Min. | 113 | 79 | 1,267 | 16.0 | 7 | 69.9% |
| 2013 | Keenan Allen, S.D. | 105 | 71 | 1,046 | 14.7 | 8 | 67.6% |
| 2020 | • CeeDee Lamb, Dall. | 104 | 69 | 892 | 12.9 | 5 | 66.3% |
| 2004 | Michael Clayton, T.B. | 122 | 80 | 1,193 | 14.9 | 7 | 65.6% |
| 2014 | Jordan Matthews, Phil. | 103 | 67 | 872 | 13.0 | 8 | 65.0% |
| 2020 | • Tee Higgins, Cin. | 107 | 67 | 908 | 13.6 | 6 | 62.6% |
| 2016 | Sterling Shepard, NYG | 105 | 65 | 683 | 10.5 | 8 | 61.9% |
| 2012 | Kendall Wright, Ten. | 104 | 64 | 626 | 9.8 | 4 | 61.5% |
| 2003 | Anquan Boldin, Ariz. | 165 | 101 | 1,377 | 13.6 | 8 | 61.2% |
| 2006 | Marques Colston, N.O. | 115 | 70 | 1,038 | 14.8 | 8 | 60.9% |
| 2007 | Dwayne Bowe, K.C. | 116 | 70 | 995 | 14.2 | 5 | 60.3% |
| 2019 | DK Metcalf, Sea. | 100 | 58 | 900 | 15.5 | 7 | 58.0% |
| 2011 | A.J. Green, Cin. | 115 | 65 | 1,057 | 16.3 | 7 | 56.5% |
| 2014 | Mike Evans, T.B. | 122 | 68 | 1,051 | 15.5 | 12 | 55.7% |
| 2017 | Evan Engram, NYG | 115 | 64 | 722 | 11.3 | 6 | 55.7% |
| 2003 | Andre Johnson, Hou. | 119 | 66 | 976 | 14.8 | 4 | 55.5% |
| 2015 | Amari Cooper, Oak. | 130 | 72 | 1,070 | 14.9 | 6 | 55.4% |
| 2008 | Donnie Avery, St.L. | 102 | 53 | 674 | 12.7 | 3 | 52.0% |
| 2008 | DeSean Jackson, Phil. | 120 | 62 | 912 | 14.7 | 2 | 51.7% |
| 2011 | Greg Little, Cle. | 119 | 61 | 709 | 11.6 | 2 | 51.3% |
| 2014 | Sammy Watkins, Buff. | 128 | 65 | 982 | 15.1 | 6 | 50.8% |
| 2004 | Larry Fitzgerald, Ariz. | 115 | 58 | 780 | 13.5 | 8 | 50.4% |
| 2010 | Mike Williams, T.B. | 129 | 65 | 964 | 14.8 | 11 | 50.4% |
| 2014 | Kelvin Benjamin, Car. | 145 | 73 | 1,008 | 13.8 | 9 | 50.3% |
| 2012 | Justin Blackmon, Jac. | 132 | 64 | 865 | 13.5 | 5 | 48.5% |
| 2014 | John Brown, Ariz. | 102 | 48 | 696 | 14.5 | 5 | 47.1% |
| 2004 | Roy Williams, Det. | 118 | 54 | 817 | 15.1 | 8 | 45.8% |
| 2000 | Sylvester Morris, K.C. | 105 | 48 | 678 | 14.1 | 3 | 45.7% |
| 2001 | Rod Gardner, Was. | 101 | 46 | 741 | 16.1 | 4 | 45.5% |
| 2020 | Jerry Jeudy, Den. | 106 | 47 | 716 | 15.2 | 2 | 44.3% |
| 2006 | Greg Jennings, G.B. | 104 | 45 | 632 | 14.0 | 3 | 43.3% |
| 2000 | Peter Warrick, Cin. | 126 | 51 | 592 | 11.6 | 4 | 40.5% |
—Ian Allan