"Jerry is hitting his stride": On Sunday, Jerry Jeudy proved he's the No. 1 receiver the Broncos drafted

ATLANTA — There was a “Wide Receiver U” reunion at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday.

Between the Denver Broncos and Atlanta Falcons, there were three first-round receivers from the University of Alabama in attendance at Sunday’s early afternoon showdown — future Hall of Famer Julio Jones, one of the best receivers in the NFL Calvin Ridley and, of course, the Broncos’ 15th-overall pick this year Jerry Jeudy.

Jeudy was unquestionably the most productive receiver on the field in Atlanta on Sunday. Of course, Ridley was sidelined with a foot injury, but the Broncos’ 21-year old outdueled one of the best receivers to ever play the game.

“Jerry is hitting his stride. He’s asserting himself in that wide receiver room and in the NFL,” Drew Lock stated after the Broncos 27-34 loss. “He runs some pretty crisp and some pretty clean routes, but Jerry is getting physical. He’s doing his job extremely well right now and he’s playing really, really hard. That’s one thing you’ll see when you watch his film is that Jerry plays extremely hard. It’s one of those things where if he does make a mistake, it’s never not at 100 miles per hour and 100%. I’m proud of him.”

For the first time in his young career, Jeudy led the Broncos in targets, receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns.

Additionally, his 14 targets were a career-high.

His seven catches were a career-high.

His 125 receiving yards were a career-high.

And his one touchdown tied the total number he had entering Sunday’s game.

There are five first-round receivers in the NFL from the University of Alabama. The two from the Falcons, along with Henry Ruggs and Amari Cooper combined for 10 catches for 121 yards and a touchdown. That was essentially what Jeudy did by himself.

Jerry Jeudy had what they call a career game.

“If we didn’t finish with a dub, it doesn’t mean anything,” Jeudy said about his best game as a pro, displaying his team-first approach.

In Jeudy’s first eight games in the NFL, he’s lost more games (5) than he did his entire career at Alabama (4). While the Broncos as a team didn’t make encouraging progress on Sunday, the rookie did.

“I think he’s made really good strides here the last couple weeks — two, three games. I like where Jerry’s been playing. I like where he’s headed,” Vic Fangio said after the game, talking about one of the few bright spots in Sunday’s game. “He’s been practicing better and it translates to the game.”

After the Kansas City Chiefs game, in which Jeudy had only two catches for 20 yards, both career lows, there was a “big flip of a switch” with the young receiver in the way he practiced.

“Every day at practice we’re just going harder and harder and harder, and it’s translated to the game,” Jeudy explained about what changed in his approach to practice. “Just my energy, my leadership and the way I go about my business. I’m just tired of losing. I just want to do everything I can to make the team better as a whole. Going out there in practice every day, I remind myself I want to get better and get better in that offense. Everything I do I’ll do at 100-percent.”

The 6-foot-1, 193-pound receiver entered the NFL as a masterful route runner. That was on full display Sunday, specifically on his 20-yard touchdown grab.

“I just threw my hand up to make the DB feel like I was running the go-route,” Jeudy explained after the game. “That’s something creative I’ve been thinking about with my route running.”

Jeudy’s creativity made the defensive back believe he was going to continue running, and at that point, he planted his foot in the ground, caught the ball with no one around him and bolted for the end zone for six.

“I think he’s doing a good job and his arrow is definitely up,” Fangio stated about the rookie. “He’s what we thought we got when we drafted him.”

When the Broncos drafted Jeudy, they believed they landed the No. 1 receiver in the draft and the No. 1 player on their board. Outside of Justin Jefferson, Jeudy’s game on Sunday was the best individual performance by any 2020 first-round receiver.

“When you throw it to Jerry Jeudy, he either catches it or draws the foul,” the CBS Broadcast stated after Jeudy drew two defensive pass interference calls for a total of 36 yards. “Sounds like a young Julio Jones.”

On Sunday, Jerry Jeudy was a more productive Julio Jones.

Midway through the season, Jeudy is on pace for 60 catches on 122 targets for 968 yards and four touchdowns. That would be a heckuva rookie season.

But in his past two games, Jeudy’s racked up 11 catches on 24 targets for 198 yards and one touchdown. If he continues to follow that type of path for the rest of the season, he will easily eclipse 1,000 yards.

Sunday didn’t unfold how the Broncos wanted it to in any aspect of the game. But John Elway has to be pleased with the development of his first-round pick as Jerry Jeudy’s quickly emerging as a dominant receiver in the NFL.