Jerry Jeudy Says He "Feels Wanted" By Browns Following Trade From Denver

As the new league year began at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, the Browns officially announced the completion of their trade with the Denver Broncos for Jerry Jeudy, who expressed excitement over joining Cleveland's deep wide receiving corps.

It was a trade several years in the making.

The Browns have popped up in trade rumors involving former Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy on multiple occasions, including most recently at last season's NFL trade deadline. While Denver balked at pulling the trigger during previous conversations with the Browns, general manager Andrew Berry's persistence finally paid off as a deal came together last weekend: Jeudy to Cleveland for fifth and sixth round picks in next month's NFL Draft.

As the clock struck midnight on the start of the NFL's new league year on Wednesday afternoon, Jeudy officially became a Cleveland Brown. In a statement, the 24-year-old acknowledged that he had heard about the franchise's interest in him prior to this offseason, adding that he's particularly excited to play alongside fellow Alabama product Amari Cooper.

“I had heard that the Browns were interested in me even two years ago," said Jeudy. "To hear that, and then be here now is exciting. It’s surreal. I feel like I am wanted, and the team has really made me feel welcomed. The Browns already had a great receiving corps with guys like Amari Cooper and Elijah Moore and I think I will fit in with them. Amari is actually a guy I’ve been modeling my game after since I was young and we became friends while I was at Bama. I am excited to see what the future holds.”

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Jeudy followed a similar path to Alabama as the teammate he looks up to. Both players hail from South Florida and parlayed their time under Nick Saban into becoming first round picks in their resepctive draft classes. 

For Jeudy, coming to Cleveland represents a fresh start. Playing on the fifth-year option year of his rookie deal, Jeudy is hoping to realize his first round potential playing with Cooper opposite of him and catching passes from Deshaun Watson.

In four seasons, he's appeared in 57 games, caight 211 passes for and 3,053 receiving yards with 11 touchdowns. His best season came in 2022 when he came up only 28 yards shy of 1,000 and notched six touchdowns. In a bit of a letdown year this past season he made 54 receptions for 758 receiving yards and two scores.