JERRY JEUDY STAND several feet from an NFL Network game in Kansas City before the Denver Broncos’ Week 6 game against the Chiefs last October.

Sitting at the desk that day was former NFL wide receiver Steve Smith Sr., who was on the air for the pregame show. The five-time Pro Bowler had criticized Jeudy’s play before the season on his podcast, referring to him as “JAG,” short for “just a guy,” a term that refers to an average player. After hearing Smith’s criticism this summer, Jeudy paced the field behind him and yelled in Smith’s direction several times, causing Smith to double down on his assessment of Jeudy on the broadcast.

“I’m sorry I said you’re a JAG, just a guy who’s an average wide receiver where he used a first-round pick that doesn’t do anything,” Smith said. “I hope that you actually perform today in a way that you haven’t shown in the last few years since they picked you. … I’m sorry to say you’re an average wide receiver, which you will eventually be.” move on (from).

“And when teams call me and ask if they should trade for you, I’ll say, ‘No,’ don’t trade for Jerry Jeudy because he’s not mentally capable of handling constructive criticism… He can be a wide receiver be. He’s a Level 3.”

Jeudy finished the season with the second-fewest receiving yards of his career (758) and, as Smith suspected, the Broncos traded him to the Cleveland Browns in March for two picks (fifth and sixth rounders in 2024) after Jeudy requested from Denver .

In his fifth season, Jeudy is still working on being more than “just a guy” and fulfilling the potential that made him the No. 15 pick in the 2020 draft. He was a blue-chip recruit in South Florida when he signed with Alabama, where he won the Biletnikoff Award in 2018, playing with the Crimson Tide alongside three other future first-round receivers – DeVonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle and Henry Ruggs .

But in the NFL, Jeudy struggled. He has watched fellow 2020 draftees Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb and Brandon Aiyuk, all drafted after him in the first round, post 1,000-yard seasons and sign lucrative extensions.

Over the past month, however, the 25-year-old has been one of the league’s most productive receivers and was on the verge of his first 1,000-yard receiving season. Since Week 8, he ranks fourth in receiving yards per game (94.8) and has established himself as the Browns’ top receiver after they traded Amari Cooper in mid-October. He returns to Denver on Monday night to face the Broncos (8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN), the team that traded him away, for the first time.

“I didn’t really circle (the game) in my mind,” Jeudy told ESPN two weeks ago. “I take every game day by day, week by week. But of course this is my former team. So you want to be able to compete against them. That’s really every competitor.”

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JEUDY DESCRIBED HIS four seasons with the Broncos as “frustrating.”

When asked to reflect on the Smith incident, he said he wished the former bankruptcy trustee had been more understanding of his situation in Denver.

“The only reason it’s annoying is just because, especially a receiver like Steve Smith, he understands that you’re only as good as your quarterback, your line and your playcaller,” Jeudy said. “No matter how good you are, no matter how open you are, if you don’t get the ball it doesn’t matter. You can look at the numbers and say, ‘Oh, he doesn’t have the numbers.’ to compare with other guys.’

“But when you record the tape, how many times do you see me opening? Or how many times do you see me open up and not get the ball?”

Jeudy said the lack of continuity at quarterback and coaching staff never allowed him to feel comfortable. The Broncos started six quarterbacks and had four head coaches and three offensive coordinators while Jeudy was in Denver.

“My rookie year I had a few drops. That was the biggest thing,” Jeudy told ESPN in late November. “But in the years since, I felt like with all these different organizational units, different programs and things like that, I wasn’t getting as many opportunities to showcase my talent. So I wasn’t able to really showcase my skills and my distance running skills.

“It just didn’t suit me.”

In four seasons in Denver, Jeudy caught 211 passes for 3,053 yards and 11 touchdowns, with frequent inconsistencies, whether on drops or low-production plays.

Jeudy was looking for a change of scenery and told ESPN that he requested a trade for two consecutive years. The Browns attempted to trade for Jeudy before the trade deadline last year. The two sides finalized the deal in March.

Denver needed draft picks to rebuild the roster after taking on a historic dead cap hit by releasing quarterback Russell Wilson, making the trade more palatable.

“It just didn’t work there,” Jeudy told ESPN. “I felt like I was a much better player than when they used me. I wanted to go somewhere where I could be used, see my full potential and use it.”

Jeudy signed a three-year, $58 million extension a few days after being traded to the Browns, but it was one step below the best receiver deals given to draft colleagues.

“Safety is never a bad thing,” Jeudy said. “You don’t really know how the season will turn out. Of course I wanted to bet on myself, but as a receiver you have to rely on a lot.”

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IN JEUDY, THE The Browns got a player they coveted since the draft. A team source said Cleveland valued Jeudy’s elite route over Cooper and viewed his extension, which averages $17.5 million per year, as a bargain for a player with his pedigree. But as the Browns’ new-look offense under quarterback Deshaun Watson faltered, Jeudy had little impact. In the first seven games of the season, he averaged 38 yards per game and caught one touchdown pass.

Near the end of the third quarter of the Browns’ Week 7 game against the Cincinnati Bengals, at which point Jeudy had seen no targets and was just watching a pass erroneously fly over his head, he walked to the sideline and slammed his helmet the bench frustration. Days later, Jeudy apologized for not being able to channel his anger more productively.

“No reason,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said when asked why Jeudy only caught one pass. “He should touch the ball.”

The Browns’ trade of Cooper moved Jeudy to the No. 1 wide receiver spot. And with quarterback Jameis Winston filling in for the injured Watson, who posted the lowest QBR in the NFL before tearing his right Achilles tendon in Week 7, Jeudy has been given the consistent opportunities he’s wanted since arriving in Cleveland.

The Browns collapsed in the fourth quarter of a 35-14 loss to the New Orleans Saints in Week 11, but Jeudy delivered his most productive game of the season: a six-catch, 142-yard performance that included an 89-yard touchdown. It was Jeudy’s first 100-yard game since Week 18 of the 2022 season.

Four days later, in Cleveland’s upset win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Jeudy caught all six of his targets for a game-high 85 yards, including several difficult balls in snow. They were the types of catches he was accused of not making in Denver.

“We know he can get open and run away from people,” Stefanski said, “but when you can make those contested catches, you become a very difficult guy to cover for defenses.”

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UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND Football coach Mike Locksley, who was the offensive coordinator at Alabama in 2017 and 2018, called Jeudy one of the most gifted route runners he has ever seen.

“Jerry has the ability to run routes that look like works of art,” Locksley said.

But when Jeudy trained last offseason, Locksley said he wanted to be a more complete — and consistent — receiver. That included working on his conditioning to ensure he could play the high-level snaps necessary to be a top option.

“He takes on the whole football player part,” Winston said. “And I think Jerry Jeudy is one of the best football players I’ve ever played with.”

Jeudy has recorded at least 70 receiving yards in four straight games, the longest streak of his career. He leads the Browns in targets (78), catches (45) and receptions (645) and is on pace for career highs in all three categories.

“The characteristics of a No. 1 receiver are being open and being able to make plays after the catch,” Winston said. “Look at Jerry Jeudy. When you look at Jerry Jeudy and see the things he does, he opens up. He runs after the catch and fights for the football.”

In an aging squad that has disappointed with a 3-8 record this season, Jeudy’s rise has been positive. When the Browns brought Jeudy into the game, they hoped he could develop into a top passing option behind Cooper and Pro Bowl tight end David Njoku, which became a necessity with Cooper’s departure. And Jeudy hopes his recent surge is a sign of things to come.

“To get going as a receiver, you have to get the ball consistently,” Jeudy said. “The last few weeks they have given me chances. … Now that I’m getting opportunities, I’m getting into a groove and a rhythm. Now it’s all uphill.”