ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — No Broncos’ player obeys social distancing rules better than Jerry Jeudy.
Once he plants a foot in the ground, cuts and explodes into his route, he's clear of his nearest defender by a good 6 feet, if not two yards.
Day 1 of Broncos’ full-squad training camp Friday at UCHealth Training Center left no doubt why the Broncos selected Jeudy with their No. 15 overall pick in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He made several exceptional catches, whether deep downfield after separating from his defender, or snagging balls along the sideline with his sure, soft hands.
“Jerry’s come in here and he’s got good polish as a receiver comparing him to other rookie receivers coming out of college,’’ said Broncos’ head coach Vic Fangio. “He runs good routes. He’s got good change of direction, good hands. It was nice to see him making a couple of plays today.”
Jeudy, 21, played against the second-team defense, but so dominant was Jeudy’s performance, he had the first-team defensive players buzzing from the sidelines.
“He has this unorthodox way of running routes,’’ said safety Kareem Jackson, who like Jeudy played his college ball at Alabama. “We were kind of talking about it today. He can get in and out of his breaks better than anyone I’ve ever seen before.
“For him to be rookie, his tempo and his routes—the way he can change pace and the way he sells things is very rare. It’s going to be a challenge for opposing defenses and guys in the secondary.’’
As a warning against getting carried away, it’s worth repeating Jeudy ran plays Friday with quarterback Jeff Driskel and the second-team offense and therefore went up against the second-team defense.
He didn’t beat A.J. Bouye off the jump or separate from Bryce Callahan, or have Jackson or Justin Simmons waiting to close the gap from the back end.
Jeudy overmatched the Broncos’ second-team secondary, though, and it won’t be long before he moves up to the first unit on the opposite side of No. 1 receiver Courtland Sutton, who also had a good first day catching passes from starting quarterback Drew Lock.
Sutton, though, had a good first day in his third season. Jeudy showed off the first time the Denver media, and some of his veteran teammates, laid eyes on him in a Broncos’ No. 10 jersey during a full practice.
“I’ve had a chance to watch him since he was a freshman since he went to my alma mater (Alabama),’’ Jackson said. “That’s one of the teams I watch every Saturday. Getting a chance to watch him throughout the last couple years and see him grow as a player, to now have him now as a teammate, is exciting.
“I think he did some great things today and caught a few balls. It’ll be interesting to see him progress day-to-day and to see how he continues to keep up that pace throughout camp and to roll into that first game and to be a threat against some other defenses.”
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