Jerry Jeudy

2023 Fantasy Upside
Even in a disastrous offensive season for the Broncos, Jerry Jeudy managed to finish the season 12th amongst WRs in yards per route run at 2.18. Jeudy exceeded 100 receiving yards three times (he also reached 96 yards once), and showed real chemistry with Russell Wilson down the stretch of the 2022 campaign. One area Jeudy could see some positive regression this year is in the touchdown department. He managed to catch six scores last year, but three came in one game. Russell Wilson only threw 16 touchdowns all season, a number that will almost certainly increase this year under Sean Payton. If Jeudy continues to improve and Payton can revive Wilson as a passer, Jeudy has legitimate upside to score double-digit TDs this year. The rest of the Broncos' pass catchers aside from TE Greg Dulcich are aging or dealing with injury issues, meaning Jeudy should be locked into a large target share for an offense that projects to improve from last year's disaster. Jeudy's emergence late last year has him lined up to the the Broncos' top target in the passing game, and whoever comes in second in that hierarchy may be way behind him in terms of target share.

2023 Fantasy Downside
Jeudy is still catching passes from Wilson, who looked completely washed for about 75% of last season. Wilson's not getting any younger, and if his decline continues this year Jeudy will be one of the primary candidates to feel the effects of that drop-off. Jeudy still has yet to record a 1,000-yard season in the NFL, although some of that can be attributed to the QBs and offenses he has had to deal with. Investing in any member of the Broncos' offense is a bet on Sean Payton to restore the passing game to competency, but last year was so bad it is hard to blame anyone for being hesitant to dive in on any individual player, including Jeudy.

2023 Bottom Line
Jeudy will have to overcome the offensive woes that plagued Denver last year to return value at his ADP, but the arrival of Payton to call plays provides plenty of reason to be optimistic that significant improvement is a possibility in 2023. Jeudy remains an above-average talent and can operate out of the slot where he should get favorable matchups with Payton scheming things up. It's understandable to be skeptical about any Bronco skill player in fantasy, but Jeudy projects as a WR2 with plenty of room to build on his 67-972-6 line from last season.

Week 16 at Los Angeles Rams
After his three-touchdown explosion in Week 14, Jerry Jeudy predictably took a step back with Brett Rypien under center in Week 15 although he still managed seven catches for 76 yards on eight targets. It looks as though Russell Wilson will be back under center for the Broncos' Week 16 matchup against the Rams in LA. Wilson's return is great news for Jeudy, but he will be facing off with a Rams defense that is stronger in the secondary than it is against opposing running games. With Courtland Sutton projected to miss another game, Jeudy should see plenty of attention from the Rams' defensive scheme. Besides Week 14, Jeudy has finished no higher than the WR12 for the week in any other game this season. Even with a couple promising performances recently, Jeudy remains a risky flex option in what has been an abysmal offense outside of a couple games in 2022.

Week 14 vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Jerry Jeudy returned from injury in Week 13 but was clearly limited as he only logged a 36.5% snap share and ran a total of eight routes. He was targeted on four of his eight routes, catching all four passes for 65 scoreless yards. Assuming Jeudy is healing up properly, he should be set for a large target share moving forward with Courtland Sutton now banged up and expected to miss some time. Jeudy's main target competition in Week 14 will be rookie tight end Greg Dulcich and role player Kendall Hinton. Jeudy has room for a big target number this week with the Broncos hosting the high-scoring Chiefs, but Russell Wilson has been awful basically the entire season and could very well struggle to produce even on increased passing volume. Jeudy can be considered for a flex start, but he is a risky play given how bad the Broncos' offense has been.