Alabama wide receiver Jerry Jeudy Selected 15th in 2020 NFL Draft
For the second time since 2015, Alabama had a Biletnikoff Award winner also be a first-round draft pick as Jerry Jeudy was selected Thursday night.
He was taken 15th overall by the Denver Broncos.
Jeudy was the 2018 Biletnikoff winner as the best receiver in college football.
Kevin Hanson of Sports Illustrated had Jeudy rated as the No. 8-overall prospect in his final Big Board for the 2020 NFL Draft.
"A polished route-runner that plays fast, Jeudy excels after the catch with his stop-start ability and elusiveness," he wrote. "Jeudy has impressive body control and natural hands, but he has had some concentration drops. He’s a high-floor receiver that should emerge as his future team's No. 1 receiver early in his career."
The only real question regarding Jeudy in the draft was whether he would be the first wide receiver selected over teammate Henry Ruggs III and Oklahoma's CeeDee Lamb, who ironically was catching passes from former Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts last season.
At times, ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. had Jeudy rated the top player in the draft overall, but the buzz surrounding Lamb started to really be heard following his performance at the NFL combine.
"He does a lot of his work in the slot," Daniel Jeremiah of the NFL Network said. "I think that's where he's best suited at the next level, although he can play outside, but he wins right now off the line of scrimmage, and he is unbelievable at the top of his route to get in and out of the break point.
"He does have some drops. I think those are more concentration drops than really worrying about his hands. But that's an area he needs to clean up, and he can make you miss. He can make you miss after the catch. He's obviously got good burst but not quite as physical after the catch and not quite as physical at the catch point in terms of going up in traffic and making plays."
Combined with Julio Jones, Amari Cooper, and Calvin Ridley, all first-round selections during the Nick Saban era, Alabama is making a strong claim to take over the title of Wide Receiver U.
Jeudy joined Cooper as a Biletnikoff Award winner in 2018, when as a sophomore he caught 68 passes for 1,315 yards (19.3 average) and 14 touchdowns.
This past season he led the Crimson Tide's stellar receiving corps with 77 catches for 1,163 yards (15.1 average) and 10 touchdowns.
T.G. Paschal/BamaCentral
