How Broncos Can Duplicate Jerry Jeudy's Breakout 3-TD Performance

Want more of Jerry Jeudy's three-touchdown day? The Denver Broncos can make it happen.

Jerry Jeudy tamed the torch-and-pitchfork crowd at Denver Broncos HQ after his three-touchdown day against the Kansas City Chiefs. Before that game, he was in the fans’ doghouse, and many labeled him a bust because he wasn’t lighting the world on fire with his play. 

As a 2020 first-round draft pick, it isn’t difficult to see why people were upset. But what if I told you that what happened last Sunday made him a superstar?

It's quite simple. The Broncos' coaching staff was forced to move Jeudy to the X receiver position due to Courtland Sutton’s injury. Frankly, this should have been done earlier, indicating a weakness in the coaching staff’s ability to place players in the correct position to succeed. 

Jeudy is a man coverage beater. Every analysis shows that he is exceptional against this type of coverage by the secondary but could be better when facing zone coverage. 

The move put Jeudy in a position to succeed. Generally speaking, the X receiver faces more man coverage than zone. A player placed in the optimal spot, more often than not, will have more chances at success. If Jeudy excels in this situation, why wasn’t he there to begin the season?

The X receiver needs to be able to beat press coverage. Stereotypically, that receiver is a bigger and more muscular body type. Sutton fits that mold at 6-foot-4 and 214 pounds. However, that's a shortsighted outlook. Just because Sutton is bigger and more physical than Jeudy doesn’t mean he should have been the X receiver.

Physical play and suddenness can beat press coverage. Many X receivers didn’t fit the mold physically but could beat press coverage with quickness and explosiveness off the line. 

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As we all witnessed this past Sunday, Jeudy did it all day against the cornerback. At 6-foot-1 and 193 pounds, he may not fit the ‘big-body' type for winning physically, but his change of direction and quickness is incredible. That's how he was getting off the line and into his routes so quickly against the Chiefs. He had three touchdowns to show for his work at the line of scrimmage.

Jeudy is also a fast receiver, forcing the cornerback to respect the deep ball. In contrast, Sutton is not as quick and doesn’t garner that same level of respect. 

Sutton won on his ability to beat the corner physically in most instances. Jeudy wins with his change-of-direction ability, route running, and speed. Even though he is not a big receiver, he is still a good fit.

Jeudy should have been in this position to start the season, and Sutton should have been the flanker, or Z receiver. Generally speaking, Jeudy would have been facing more man coverage, and the coaches could have had Sutton running routes off a free release where he could use his physical skills to win against the secondary. 

That's not to say that Sutton isn’t a good X receiver, and in most circumstances, this would be the correct spot for Sutton. Jeudy may just be a better choice. 

With Jeudy’s skills against man coverage and not being as good against a zone, placing him in the proper position would have been a sign that the coaching staff was willing to do the right thing to succeed. It would also indicate the Broncos could adequately evaluate their players. Instead, fans watched Jeudy struggle most of the season, and the team win three games. 

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