How Jerry Jeudy proved he is the key to successful Browns offense

The Cleveland Browns are most effective when Jerry Jeudy has the ball in hand.

The talented, 26-year-old wideout, was targeted 12 times for a season-high six catches on Sunday against the New York Jets. Although the outcome favored the Jets, 27-20, Jeudy was incredibly efficient at making something out of nothing, dashing for 78 yards and one touchdown.

His 22-yard touchdown catch came off the arm of a poor throw from rookie signal-caller Dillon Gabriel. However, his ability to track the ball and come back for it showed he's the key to Cleveland's offense.

The former 15th overall selection in the 2020 NFL Draft can be one of the turnaround pieces for Cleveland as they look to bounce back moving forward.

Last season he had a career-high 1,229 yards and four touchdowns on 90 receptions, good enough for a 53.8% catch rate and 72.3 yards per game.

Season-high 6 catches (11 targets) for 78 yards for Jerry Jeudy.
— Daniel Oyefusi (@DanielOyefusi) November 9, 2025

Against the New England Patriots just before the Week Nine bye, Jeudy was held to no catches for the first time this season. He was targeted a measly two times.

It was one of the most strugglesome performances for the Browns this season, falling 32-13.

The game before that, a similar storyline occurred. In the 31-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins, while the conditions were bad for the passing game, Jeudy caught two balls on four targets for 17 yards.

As the No. 1 wide receiver on the roster, he needs to be favored more in the passing game. When he's targeted and leaned into as the team's sparkplug, the offense is the most efficient. The only issue is Gabriel's accuracy and ability to throw deep down the field.

However, Jeudy supports his QB1, even through the lackluster outings.

"I think Dillon's constantly growing each game. Each game he's had, I feel like he's just getting better and better," Jeudy said following the loss to the Jets. "All a quarterback needs is opportunities and consistency. Him being out there and just getting more reps, it's going to give him more confidence and I see Dillon consistently growing each week."

With head coach Kevin Stefanski turning the offensive playcalling over to offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, and production ramping up for Jeudy, this is promising for the future of the offense.

Entering Week 10, he'd been targeted on just 18.7% of his routes, the lowest rate of his career.

Jeudy was targeted on a season-high 32.4% of routes against the Jets https://t.co/GwbzzQnZpa
— Daniel Oyefusi (@DanielOyefusi) November 11, 2025

The rest of Cleveland's offense is young and inexperienced, meaning relying on the 6-foot-1 wideout makes sense. If he's the only reliable target right now and the coaching staff wants to build confidence for Gabriel, keep throwing him the football.

The Browns have just two wins on the season and with eight more games to go in the season, finding small internal wins will be important for the team.

Jeudy and the Browns look to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, Nov. 17, with kickoff slated for 4:25 p.m.

Under the bright lights of late afternoon football, Jeudy will have a chance to show the rest of the league just how lethal of a route runner he can be.