Jerry Jeudy

Jerry Davarus Jeudy (born April 24, 1999) is an American football wide receiver for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama, where he was awarded the Fred Biletnikoff Award as the season’s outstanding college football receiver as a sophomore in 2018, and was drafted by the Denver Broncos with the 15th overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft.

Early life
Jeudy attended Deerfield Beach High School in Deerfield Beach, Florida, where he played high school football. As a high school senior in 2016, he had 76 receptions for 1,054 yards and 15 touchdowns. Jeudy was rated as a five-star recruit, the third-highest-rated wide receiver in the country and 21st-highest-rated recruit overall by the 247Sports Composite. He committed to the University of Alabama to play college football on July 28, 2016.

Freshman year: 2017
Jeudy enrolled early at Alabama and participated in spring practice for the 2017 season. He was named the MVP of Alabama's A-Day spring game after catching five passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns. Jeudy caught his first career pass in Alabama's second game of the season against Fresno State. In total, Jeudy amassed 14 receptions for 264 yards and two touchdowns during his true freshman season.

Sophomore year: 2018
During the spring before his sophomore season in 2018, Jeudy underwent surgery for a meniscus injury which led him to miss part of spring practice. He fully recovered in time for fall camp, saying "I feel great, actually. I forgot I got injured to be real." Jeudy was named third-team preseason All-SEC at SEC Media Days.

Jeudy caught six touchdown passes in Alabama's first three games of the 2018 season, including a 136-yard, two-touchdown performance against Ole Miss. He had 135 yards and two touchdowns against Arkansas on October 6, and the next week set a career high with 147 yards and a touchdown against Missouri. He had 139 yards and a touchdown in Alabama's loss to Clemson in the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship.

Jeudy was named a consensus first-team All-American and first-team All-SEC. He was awarded the Fred Biletnikoff Award as the nation's best wide receiver. His 14 receiving touchdowns led the conference and was tied for third nationally, and his 1,315 receiving yards were second in the conference behind Ole Miss's A. J. Brown.

Junior year: 2019
Jeudy was a unanimous pre-season All-American heading into his junior year, and a favorite to repeat as the Biletnikoff Award winner. Numerous publications named him among the best returning players in the country, and he was listed on several Heisman Trophy watchlists.

Jeudy was the Crimson Tide's leading receiver in each of their first two games, finishing with 137 yards and a touchdown in the season opener against Duke, and 103 yards and three touchdowns against New Mexico State the following week. Jeudy eclipsed 100 yards in only two more games during the regular season, in part due to the season-ending injury of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. He finished the regular season with 959 yards receiving and 9 touchdowns and was again named first-team All-SEC. He capped off his junior season with six receptions for 204 yards and a touchdown in the Crimson Tide's win over Michigan in the Citrus Bowl. In January 2020, Jeudy announced he would forgo his senior season by entering the 2020 NFL Draft.

2020 season
Jeudy was drafted by the Denver Broncos with the 15th pick in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He was the second wide receiver selected, behind Henry Ruggs (Las Vegas Raiders, 12th overall). On July 23, 2020, Jeudy signed a four-year, $15.192 million contract with the team, with an $8.6 million signing bonus.

On September 14, 2020, Jeudy made his NFL debut in the season opener against the Tennessee Titans, recording four receptions for 56 yards in the 14–16 loss. In Week 4, against the New York Jets on Thursday Night Football, Jeudy recorded his first professional touchdown reception a 48-yard on a pass from Brett Rypien. In Week 9, against the Atlanta Falcons, he had his first 100-yard game with seven receptions for 125 receiving yards during the 34–27 loss. In Week 16, Jeudy was credited with five drops in addition to six catches for 61 yards in a 16–19 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Jeudy finished the season with 9 total drops according to NBC Sports, tied for second most in the league with fellow rookie CeeDee Lamb, though PFF credits Jeudy with 12 drops on the season. His 44% catch rate was one of the lowest in the league among qualified receivers in 2020, ranking exactly 200th.

2021 season
Jeudy suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 1 against the New York Giants that caused him to leave the game. He was placed on injured reserve on September 14, 2021. He was activated on October 30. Jeudy finished the season with 38 receptions for 467 yards and zero touchdowns. His 67.9% catch rate ranked 91st among qualified receivers.

2022 season
Jeudy had his best statistical season to date in 2022, in terms of yards, receptions, and touchdowns, despite sustaining an injury against the Titans on November 13. He returned December 4. In Week 14, against the Kansas City Chiefs, Jeudy had three receiving touchdowns in the 34–28 loss. On December 16, Jeudy was fined $36,281 for unsportsmanlike conduct in Week 14 where he removed his helmet and made illegal contact with an official. In Week 17, Jeudy had a career-high 154 yards on five catches in a 31–28 win over the Chargers, earning AFC Offensive Player of the Week. Although his drops were down from previous seasons, Jeudy finished the season with a catch rate of just 67%, which was 101st in the league among qualified receivers. In the 2022 season, Jeudy had 67 receptions for 972 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns.

2023 season
On May 1, 2023, the Broncos picked up the fifth-year option of Jeudy's contract. Jeudy injured his hamstring in practice before the opening of the 2023 season which caused him to miss the Week 1 game. Before the Week 6 game, there was a heated moment between Jeudy and Steve Smith Sr., an analyst for NFL Network, after Smith attempted to apologize to Jeudy for criticisms he made about Jeudy's ability as a wide receiver on his podcast. Jeudy swore at Smith and rejected Smith's overtures; afterwards, Smith criticized Jeudy on live television, calling Jeudy a JAG ("just a guy") and a "tier 3" wide receiver that no team should trade for. The rant went viral. The Broncos would lose that game against the Chiefs with Jeudy having 14 receiving yards on three catches. When asked by the media to address the rumors regarding the Broncos attempting to trade him, his response was, "It don't affect me at all because at the end of the day, I'm still going to be the player I am. I know what I can do and I know what I'm capable of. So, trade me or (don't) trade me. It don't matter because at the end of the day I'm going to still be me."

Jeudy finished the season with 758 yards and 2 touchdowns in 16 games played. His 62.1% catch rate was the lowest since his rookie year. His catch rate was just 143rd among qualified receivers.

Cleveland Browns
On March 13, 2024, Jeudy was traded to the Cleveland Browns for 2024 fifth and a sixth-round picks. On March 19, Jeudy signed a three-year, $58 million contract extension, with $41 million guaranteed.

Personal life
While Jeudy was a senior in high school in 2016, his seven-year-old sister Aaliyah died. In Jeudy's senior year of high school, he earned straight A's.

Jeudy is of Haitian descent.

Jeudy wears a Jewish Star of David necklace, even though he is not Jewish. He bought the necklace because he has been nicknamed "Jew", based on the first syllable of his surname.

Legal troubles
On May 12, 2022, Jeudy was arrested in Arapahoe County, Colorado and charged with second-degree criminal tampering with a domestic violence enhancer, a misdemeanor. The arrest stemmed from an alleged non-violent incident with his girlfriend, who has since asked that the charges be dropped.