Why Vic Fangio isn’t concerned about Jerry Jeudy’s hands

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Jerry Jeudy had a forgettable Sunday in California, to say the least.

On Sunday against the Chargers, Denver’s first-round rookie had the most drops by any receiver in the NFL in a single game in the past five years, according to Pro Football Focus.

Yet, despite letting five passes slip through his hands, Vic Fangio isn’t concerned about the former Biletnikoff Award winner’s hands.

“Jerry’s proven he has good hands,” Fangio stated on Monday without question. “Now, obviously, that wasn’t evident yesterday, so it’s not a question of whether he can catch or not. He’s just got to get back to the basics of focusing a little bit more, make sure he has it and not let anything distract him through the process of catching the ball. Catching the ball is job No. 1 and running after the catch is job No. 2.”

This wasn’t the first game of Jeudy’s young NFL career in which he had a drop. In fact, in his NFL debut in Week 1, the issue appeared. However, to Fangio’s point, coming out of the University of Alabama as a top receiver prospect in the draft, there weren’t many questions about the 6-foot-1 receiver’s hands.

“He’s proven he has good hands, which I think is different than some guys that you know have inconsistent hands and are always going to be a 50-50 catcher throughout their career,” Fangio explained. “He can catch. He’s proven that. He just has to do a better job of focusing.”

While Jeudy’s five drops were a career-high, his 15 targets were also the most he’s had in his short NFL career. Without the drops, Jeudy would have had double-digit receptions for the first time in the NFL too. That’s the type of focal point the Broncos believe the masterful route-runner can be in their offense.

“He’s proven during the season at different times that he can be a helluva receiver in this league,” Fangio said. “He’s a good route runner. He can catch. He had a bad day yesterday in that regard. But he’s proven he has good hands and I’m sure he’ll come back from this and be a better receiver throughout his career because of this day.”

After the game, Jeudy stated he had “never” had a game like Sunday’s in his life.

“I can’t dwell on this really—just focus on the little details that I need to focus on to get better and work on my craft,” the 21-year old said after Denver’s 19-16 loss. “I’ve just got to make plays. Nobody stopped me. I was open. I’ve just got to finish. I beat myself today.”

In the first 10 weeks of the season, Jeudy was on pace for an impressive 981 receiving yards for the season. However, in the past six games, Jeudy has only racked up 13 receptions for 165 yards. Fangio, however, believes the rookie has the right mental makeup to be able to overcome Sunday’s disappointing outing and make this a defining moment in his career.

“I think he’s got the right makeup,” Fangio stated. “When I say it’s a defining moment—sometimes a guy drops a pass here and there, but yesterday he had a few of them and I think he’ll learn a lot from that, that the focus needs to be on catching the ball before anything else happens regardless of if you’re in traffic or not. I think he’ll come out a better receiver because of this.”

Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders will be the only opportunity Jeudy will have to prove his coach right before his rookie season comes to an end.