Broncos OC Joe Lombardi Hypes Jerry Jeudy's Return to a Needy Offense

One year ago, few Denver Broncos fans appreciated how important Jerry Jeudy was to the endeavor of (hopefully) winning a football game. He was viewed then as a borderline first-round bust by many, as he'd failed to score a touchdown in his second season as he missed multiple games with an injury.

Thus, even after Tim Patrick had been lost for the season in training camp, most of the excitement and expectation of the Russell Wilson trade centered around how many touchdowns and big plays he'd be connecting with Courtland Sutton on.

That perception of Jeudy didn't change until the final six games of the 2022 season when he absolutely went off. He totaled 37 receptions for 523 yards and three touchdowns over that span.

Extrapolated over an entire 17-game season, that put him on a tear for 104 receptions, 1,481 yards, and nine touchdowns. On the heels of the bitterly disappointing 2022 campaign, fans had a whole new appreciation for Jeudy, and with the arrival of Sean Payton as head coach, the expectations grew.

This made the hamstring injury Jeudy suffered toward the tail end of training camp all the more frustrating for a Broncos fan base that had become numb to the constant gnawing of the injury bug. This one did break through and hurt a little, but the silver lining was that he would return sometime during the first quarter of the 2023 season.

That return is now. After the Broncos struggled to create explosive plays in Week 1's loss, getting Jeudy back could have an immense trickle-down effect on the offense.

Broncos offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi foreshadowed Jeudy's return on Thursday, with the Washington Commanders coming to town for a Week 2 tilt.

“He’s a great route-runner," Lombardi said of Jeudy. "You feel really good when he’s matched up man-to-man, so when you recognize that, [he’s] someone you look to early as a quarterback. [He’s] a guy that consistently can get separation. The more receivers that you have that can win those one-on-one matchups, the easier it is. It’ll definitely be good to have him back.”

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Indeed. The NFL defines an explosive play as being 20-plus yards. In Week 1's loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, the Broncos had exactly two plays that qualified — one, a 21-yard completion to Lil'Jordan Humphrey, and two, a pitch-and-catch that running back Samaje Perine rumbled 20 yards downfield.

Jeudy's return isn't just about the explosive potential he brings as an individual to the Broncos offense. It's what that explosive potential opens up for the other skill players.

Jeudy has 4.46-second speed and quick-twitch ability, and he doesn't get enough credit for his after-the-catch skills. But NFL opponents recognize those attributes, and combined with his elite route-running prowess, it forces defenses to play the Broncos much more honestly.

That means fewer double teams and rolled coverages to Sutton. Allowed to operate one-on-one, Sutton can do a lot of damage to opposing defenses. Wilson will exploit that.

Just when defenses get sick of relinquishing plays to Sutton and start shading coverage to his side, that's when Wilson flips the script and attacks the opponent with Jeudy. Rinse, repeat.

It's the symbiotic balance of competent offense in the NFL, and without Jeudy, the Broncos were always going to struggle to create big plays, even with the offensive expertise and play-calling acumen of Payton. With Jeudy back in the fold, the Broncos could field a significantly more productive offense vs. the Commanders.

Sutton stands to benefit, but so does Marvin Mims Jr. and tight end Adam Trautman, the last of whom stands to be the biggest beneficiary of Greg Dulcich's weeks-long absence. Washington won't make it easy with a brutal defensive front, but if the Broncos' offensive line can hold up for 2.5 seconds more often than not, it should lead to more of those elusive 'explosive' plays in Week 2.

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