Broncos New WRs Coach Exposes Jerry Jeudy's Most Slept-On Trait

Most well-informed Denver Broncos fans are aware of Jerry Jeudy's reputation as a route runner. That, and his speed, were on his calling card coming out of Alabama in 2020.

However, there's more than meets the eye when it comes to the Broncos' fourth-year wide receiver, as Jeudy's new position coach Keary Colbert laid out recently.

"If you watch football, you study football, you know [Jeudy is] one of the better route-runners in the game," Colbert said via Aric DiLalla of the team website. "But being around him for these couple months, the one thing that I've learned most about him is he's a really smart football player. He understands football. He's very savvy. His football IQ is very high, and I think those are little things that probably don't get mentioned enough. Everybody just talks about his ability to run routes and make explosive plays — and he's done that and he is that, as well, but the one thing I appreciate and I've learned being around him is he's very football smart."

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Jeudy's relative youth has perhaps helped camouflage just how football "savvy" he really is. That football IQ is revealed, in part, by his mastery of the route tree.

It takes more than just the physical ability to run the route tree and to do it well. When you get to actual football games, the best route runners are the guys who also understand how to use the concepts of the route tree to their advantage, whether it's leverages, spacing, or angles.

How do we know that Jeudy has a masterful understanding of those things? By how quickly and how often he gets open.

It'll be fun to see whether Jeudy can sustain his momentum from the last six games of the 2022 season when the new campaign rolls around. We know he's hoping to.

Like Jeudy, the Broncos' receiving corps is getting used to its new position coach, and coming to terms with Zach Azzanni's departure. Azzanni presided over the wideouts for five years and had been the only position coach Courtland Sutton and Tim Patrick, as well as Jeudy, had known in Denver.

But Colbert brings great knowledge and experience to the table as a former NFL receiver who once suited up for the Broncos. Colbert sees some big things on the horizon for Sutton and Patrick, too.

"Both of those guys are kind of like the glue in the room," Colbert said via the team site. "They provide size and just toughness on the outside. … They move well for big dudes. I think a lot of times when you see receivers and size you see a big guy, you just think he's kind of lumbering, moving slow. But these guys can actually run routes and bend and drop their weight. They're strong at the point of attack and catching the football and stuff like that. I've been impressed and enjoy watching them practice and compete the last few weeks."

The NFL world is sleeping on the Broncos' wide receiver corps right now, and that's A-okay. With Sean Payton now in charge, the Broncos' offense is poised to wake up a lot of people.

Russell Wilson's ship will be lifted by Payton's tide, and so will that of the wideouts — a quarterback-dependent position. It wouldn't be surprising to see Wilson set a new career high in passing yards, as some are predicting, which would portend well for the outlook of Jeudy, Sutton, and Patrick.

Broncos training camp begins on July 28. Count the days.

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