Broncos Film Room: Why Stefon Diggs is important to Jerry Jeudy

Jerry Jeudy and Pat Shurmur making their way to the Mile High City in 2020 is not a coincidence. Both were brought in to help revive an offense that has been lifeless since 2015.

Even though Shurmur’s second attempt at leading an NFL team was disappointing, he remains one of the more simple yet forward-thinking and adaptable offensive coordinators in the league.

With Jeudy, Shurmur should be able to create an offense that is reminiscent of the 2017 Vikings. Stefon Diggs and Jeudy share a very similar skillset and were compared to each other leading up to the 2020 NFL Draft.

Diggs and Jeudy are both excellent route runners combined with very good speed, they are able to make plays from anywhere on the field. Shurmur showed a great understanding of Diggs’ talent and allowed him to get himself open with his natural abilities but also schemed him open consistently.

For most of his career, Diggs has been lining up as the Z receiver. That means he is usually lining up off the line so that he can be used in motion to manipulate the defense to his team’s advantage.

Jeudy projects to fit in that same Z receiver role, similar to how Emmanuel Sanders was used when he played for the Broncos.

Looking back on that magical and exciting 2017 Vikings team, we can gain a glimpse into how Shurmur will be utilizing Jeudy’s skillset for the Broncos.

Run and Screen Game

Jerry Jeudy was widely regarded as the most pro-ready wide receiver in this year’s draft class. He has speed, technique and can dip, weave and juke through defenses. The only legitimate criticism of his game at Alabama was how he fared in the run game. While receivers do most of their damage in the passing game, having a receiver on the field that can’t block will become a detriment to any team.

Diggs’ run game highlight reel isn’t impressive, but he was often used to block in many different situations.

The Vikings are running split zone, essentially an inside zone run except there is a player coming across the play to block the last player on the line of scrimmage on the backside. Diggs is tasked with the backside block here. The play is there for Latavius Murray to cut back under Diggs but instead, he opts to plow ahead for a gain of one.

We’ve talked a lot about the 2020 wide receiver class and how many guys can succeed if they just get the ball in their hands. By that, we’re saying offenses should manufacture easy touches to allow their athletes to make plays. Shurmur handled Diggs well in that regard getting him easy touches on screens and end-around’s.

This is just a simple tunnel screen and is a super easy read for Keenum. Detroit came out trying to get into a two-high shell but once Minnesota motions into five-wide the Lions have to match. The Vikings now have numbers on the boundary perimeter and go for the screen. All Diggs has to do is make the catch and then be an athlete, gain of 37.

Shurmur dialed up an end-around for Diggs on this play. This is a classic case of misdirection. The offensive line, quarterback and running back all show action to the field. Diggs and the h-back come back around to the boundary for a nice gain of nine on 1st and 10.

Alabama routinely got the ball in Jeudy’s hands in simple ways. This is just a simple bubble screen where Jeudy’s natural abilities take over. I love how he barrels into the end zone at the end of the play. If you didn’t know the score you might think this was a play to take the lead in a tightly contested game.

Short and Intermediate Passing

One of the more fascinating aspects of how Shurmur constructs and calls an offense is how simple it all appears. He calls simple concepts like flat/curl, all curls, mesh and shallow crosses from all over the field. It’s a matter of making pre-snap reads, audibling to the correct play and making decisions during the play.

This play is a combination of two concepts, stick and slant/flat. The slant/flat is executed to the field side. Meanwhile, Diggs and Rudolph are executing the stick concept to the boundary. This is an easy read and route for Diggs. The corner is playing nearly ten yards off of Diggs, this is like stealing candy from a baby. Diggs effortlessly runs his route, shakes off the corner and runs for a gain of 22.

Minnesota is in a tight 11-personnel formation, the play is a mesh wheel concept. Diggs is the furthest receiver from the formation to the boundary side, Adam Thielen is the closest receiver in the slot to the field side. Thielen and Diggs are both running drags, otherwise known as the mesh. The running back runs a wheel out of the backfield opening up nearly the entire field side up for Diggs to run. Shurmur wisely has Diggs work under Thielen in order to get him open faster, once he catches the ball. The cornerback lined up across from Diggs doesn’t even stand a chance at covering this route.

Now here is Alabama running the same exact play as above. The formation is slightly different, but it is still a tight compact formation that makes this play run so well. Jeudy immediately breaks across the field and under the route of the tight end. Now it’s just an athlete making a play in the open field.

There’s nothing revolutionary or special about mesh. You’ll see teams all over the country from high school to NFL running this play every fall. Nothing flashy, just smart football.

Play Action and Deep Passing

Diggs and Jeudy have the ability to be precise and technical with their movements while also being some of the fastest players on the field. That combination of traits makes scheming up play action and double moves much easier for coaches.

1st-and-10, Shurmur draws up a beautiful play-action shot play out of 21 personnel here. It’s a flood concept that’s designed to overload an area of the defense, in this case, the boundary. Diggs is strictly taking the top off the defense here. Tampa is playing some type of 4 deep coverage and the concept works as intended. The boundary safety has to choose between helping cover Diggs over the top or taking the tight end on the deep out. Diggs is able to create separation due to his speed and route running ability for a gain of 47.

Again, 1st-and-10 and another example of Shurmur’s ability to find a defensive tell and exploit it with a simple action. In this instance, Diggs is in the slot in this 12 personnel formation. The Lions crowd the box expecting run given the down, distance and line of scrimmage. Diggs has a slight in motion that moves the linebacker into the box, now a safety 10 yards off the line of scrimmage is locked in coverage with Diggs. Even though the pass was incomplete, this is good offensive coaching and scheming.

The Vikings love this play against Cover 3 looks, which they get here from the New Orleans defense. This concept really puts the middle third defender in a tough spot. Does he take the over route or keep sinking and cover the deep threat? In this instance the safety bites on Thielen’s over route giving Keenum a window to hit Diggs for a possible touchdown. Diggs runs a great route and ends up drawing a pass interference penalty, moving the ball well inside the red zone.

This is the same concept run against another Cover 3 look against Carolina. Shurmur adds another wrinkle to Diggs’ route. Instead of taking the top off the secondary, after Diggs gets out of his out-and-up break, he cuts back towards the sideline on a comeback. Quite a unique route that you won’t see many other teams or players attempt.

Shurmur has shown that he is not afraid to attack defenses early and often. All of these plays were called on 1st or 2nd down. Not only is Shurmur drawing plays up in interesting ways that really stress the defense, but he is also calling them at the best times on downs like 1st-and-10 or 2nd-and-short.

This is too easy for Jeudy. It’s Alabama’s first offensive snap of the game. Michigan bravely decides to not only leave Jeudy un-covered off the line, but they are also asking a safety to keep up with Jeudy once he has a full head of steam. It’s highly doubtful that Jeudy will face off-coverage like this often in the NFL. I wouldn’t be surprised to see teams line corners up directly in front of Jeudy and attempt to be physical with him to try and keep him covered.

Jerry Jeudy’s 2020 Outlook

Big things are expected of the Broncos first-round pick. The Broncos young talent and free-agent signings created the most hype we’ve seen for a Broncos offense since 2013. Adding Jeudy is the cherry on top. It’s telling when you watch Jeudy at Alabama that his talent made coaching and scheming an offense easy. Sutton’s emergence as one of the best young receivers in the NFL was highly encouraging last year. Now that Jeudy has joined the team, they could have another young breakout receiver in 2020. Broncos fans know what a potent 1-2 punch at wide receiver can do for an offense. If Sutton continues his ascension and Jeudy is all that he is hyped up to be, offense could be back in a big way in Denver.

For more on Shurmur’s offense, check out Andre’s article here and Mase’s article on how Shurmur will affect Drew Lock here.