Here's how Jerry Jeudy will fit on the Broncos

DENVER — There is no such thing as a sure thing.

But Alabama wide receivers in the first round in the Nick Saban era come close.

Since Saban became the Crimson Tide head coach in 2007, three of his wide receivers were taken in the first round prior to this year: Julio Jones (2011), Amari Cooper (2015) and Calvin Ridley (2018).

All of them were productive from the moment they walked onto the field for their NFL teams.

Each them caught at least 50 passes, accumulated at least 800 yards and scored at least 6 touchdowns in their rookie seasons. The three of them averaged 63 receptions, 950 yards and eight touchdowns in their firs years in the league.

You can expect something similar from Jerry Jeudy, arguably the best wide receiver in what is likely the deepest receiving class since 2014.

Jeudy possesses all the tools required to be a No. 1 wide receiver. He has the requisite speed to get past defenders downfield. His route-running is exquisite; when he can’t create separation with his speed, he does so with a sharp cut. His game has the refinement of an eight-year veteran with multiple Pro Bowls under his belt.

But when Jeudy joins the Broncos, he will not have to handle that role — not with Courtland Sutton on the opposite side.

And that’s why you can look to Ridley for an example of how Jeudy can flourish. As the Falcons’ No. 2 wide receiver behind Jones, Ridley has already emerged as a dependable threat, with per-16-game averages of 70 receptions, 931 yards and 9.4 touchdowns in his first two seasons.

Jeudy replaced Ridley in the Alabama starting lineup in 2018. There was no immediate drop-off because of what Jeudy learned by watching Ridley as a freshman, and by 2019, Jeudy had taken Alabama’s production from the WR1 spot to another level.

What did Jeudy learn by watching?

“Just how to be a pro,” he said. “Calvin did everything the right way. He worked hard. He practiced hard. He did the right things off the field. Me being behind him, I watched and learned his every move, his every step, just how to be a pro and somebody that you can depend on [that is] accountable. He’s one of the leaders that everybody looked up to in the locker room.

“Watching him do everything he did really helped me be a better person and a better football player, as well.”

Ridley has proven worthy of his first-round status.

Jeudy might be even better. But at the minimum, the Broncos have a receiver who will take pressure off of Sutton and give Drew Lock the option of simply throwing to the open man among a second-round pick who has proven to be a true WR1, a first-round tight end (Noah Fant) and the best all-around receiver in a potentially historic class for the position.

Defenses will have to pick their poison. All Lock has to do is find the target left open. If it works out to its potential, it gives the Broncos the option of asking the same kind of uncomfortable questions of defenses that the Rod Smith-Ed McCaffrey-Shannon Sharpe triumvirate did during the salad days of the 1990s.

There are no sure things in the draft.

But Jeudy is as close as they come.