Contract Terms
The Cleveland Browns have added to their receiving rotation, acquiring wideout Jerry Jeudy in a trade with the Denver Broncos, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter. The Browns will send Denver a 2024 fifth- and sixth-round pick to complete the trade, according to Schefter. The trade cannot officially be completed until the new league year begins on Wednesday.
Update: Jeudy agreed to a three-year contract extension in Cleveland worth up to $58 million with $41 million guaranteed at signing, according to multiple reports on 3/19.
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Fantasy Football Impact
According to ESPN.com Browns beat writer Jake Trotter, Cleveland has been interested in Jeudy since last offseason. Jeudy became more readily available with the Broncos moving on from quarterback Russell Wilson while revamping their roster.
The No. 15 overall pick of the 2020 draft, Jeudy is entering the last year of his rookie contract after the Broncos exercised his fifth-year option last year. He has appeared in 57 games with 44 starts in his first four seasons, recording 211 catches for 3,053 yards with 11 touchdowns.
Profootballtalk.com's Myles Simmons reminded readers that Jeudy has not reached 1,000 yards receiving in a single season. The closest he's come to it was in 2022 when he set career highs across the board, with 67 catches for 972 yards and six TDs.
In 2023, Jeudy finished with 54 receptions for 758 yards with two touchdowns in 16 games with 11 starts.
In Cleveland, he'll offer quarterback Deshaun Watson another weapon, slotting in behind Pro Bowl wide receiver Amari Cooper and Pro Bowl tight end David Njoku.
For the Browns, Cooper and receiver Elijah Moore, whom the Browns traded for instead of Jeudy last offseason, join Jeudy as players entering their final season under contract.
For those of you currently in the midst of best-ball drafts, it's fair to expect Jeudy's price to rise slightly based on the fact he's in the news alone. But don't get carried away.
Juedy has been going as WR61 on Underdog and WR56 on BestBall 10s.
Both those numbers are well off his current Footballguys 2024 Draft Ranking of WR46, but assuming the price rises, he could end up closer to that. Also, his ranking could drop a bit based on this news. For now, drafting him as a WR5 or WR6 well past the 10th round -- his Average Draft Position (ADP) is well into the double-digit rounds (he can easily be had in the 11th) seems like a reasonable gamble.
But make no mistake: Success is not guaranteed.
The Fantasy Football Fallout
As PFT's Mike Florio suggests, the move to upgrade the receiving corps will help Watson live up to his fully guaranteed $46 million per year contract. It also will increase the pressure on him to do so. That said, it's hard to spin the addition of a talented young wideout as a negative for any quarterback. Expecting Watson to better the 14.1 fantasy points per game he delivered last year seems like a low bar, but that's where he sits.
His time in Cleveland has been more notable due to absence (whether due to suspension or injury) than his production on the field since his arrival in Cleveland; his QB26 ranking reflects that. Nobody should expect a return of the top-5 fantasy quarterback we saw during his time in Houston, but Watson's value has dropped far enough there's some upside at his current price.
Cooper is currently WR29 on Underdog and WR31 on BestBall 10s; that's in line with his WR28 Footballguys ranking, and all are numbers the veteran wideout has outperformed in the past. His ability to do so again will require more from Watson than Cooper.
Moore has fallen to outlier status in early best balls (WR76 on Underdog), and Jeudy's arrival compounds that. Moore is currently WR59 on the Footballguys 2024 Draft Rankings. A downward adjustment could be coming. The same goes for fellow Browns wideouts Cedric Tillman and David Bell.
David Njoku is currently TE8 on our rankings, and that's unlikely to change given the dearth of high-end fantasy prospects at the position. But he's been the clear-cut second-receiving option in this offense. That could change with Jeudy on board.
In Denver, Courtland Sutton has been the first Broncos wideout off the board in early best-ball drafts, and his Footballguys WR42 ranking is a fair representation of that. Remember, more moves are possible in Denver, including moving on from Sutton if the right offer comes along. Tim Patrick, coming off a pair of season-ending injuries (an ACL in 2022 and a torn Achilles in 2023), reworked his contract to remain with the club, but Marvin Mims Jr. is the player who will be gaining momentum in the wake of Jeudy's departure.
As Zac Stevens of The DNVR.com suggests, "By trading Jeudy, Mims will have a massive role in the Broncos' offense."
Indeed, Broncos coach Sean Payton made it clear that Mims didn't have a more prominent role last year because he played the same position as Jeudy.
Stevens summed up: "Expect a breakout year for Mims in 2024."
We'll see about a breakout. Much will depend on who Denver lines up at quarterback in the post-Wilson era but expect Mims' current WR83 ranking to rise significantly with this news.
Stock Watch
Risers
Fallers
Overview
The Denver Broncos are trading wide receiver Jerry Jeudy to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for the No. 135 (fifth-round) and No. 202 (sixth-round) picks in the 2024 NFL Draft. The trade cannot be made official until the start of the new league year on March 13. For the Browns, Jeudy represents another weapon for quarterback Deshaun Watson to go along with Amari Cooper, and one acquired for minimal draft capital, just as in the case of Cooper's trade to Cleveland two years ago. For Denver, this is part of a bigger reset that includes the release of Russell Wilson. But it clears the way for a greater role for Broncos second-year WR Marvin Mims Jr.