Jerry Jeudy effective, but underutilized in Chiefs loss

The Denver Broncos have an offensive coordinator problem, though that’s not a secret. It has cost them quite a few games this season through some maddening play concepts and calls. However, perhaps the most damning of all has been the inability to really feature...anybody in the passing game.

Most notably, Jerry Jeudy.

Ever since his return, Jeudy has been more of a decoy than a featured weapon. It’s a shame for a player with his skillset. It’s even more damning when you realize that Shurmur was on staff when they drafted Jeudy in the first round. If anything, we should be writing that the ball should be spread out more. Instead, we’re begging for more utilization of Jeudy’s skillset as an actual receiver, and not an afterthought.

Jerry Jeudy got six total targets against Kansas City, a game in which Denver was down from virtually the beginning. One of those targets was in the first half, where Jeudy won over the middle of the field and gained 36 yards. The next target was intercepted on...whatever this play design was.

The next two were basically designed checkdowns to the right side for Teddy, with Jeudy’s YAC in mind. He got 9 yards on the first and then 13 on the second. Not bad! His final two came on the last drive of the game - one a big gain over the middle and the other one an incompletion on a slant.

That’s it. This was his route tree.

Now, if you want to know just how effective he was against Kansas City throughout the game, Next Gen Stats has you covered. The NFL’s biggest trend in recent years has been Next Gen Stats tracking, enabled by Zebra Technologies’ on-field tracking. They release all sorts of interesting analytical data that measure player performance.

This week, they released their statistics and tracking data across the league through Week 13.

Jerry Jeudy was able to get 8.1 yards of separation on average (most in Week 13) on Sunday Night Football. He had 4 catches on 6 targets for 77 yards.

Yep. You are reading that one right.

If the Broncos offense wants to succeed, they do need to change. Part of that change comes from integrating Jerry Jeudy as a legit #1 option in this offense, and they need to treat him that way if they want to make the playoffs.

Detroit would be a good start.

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