Before his first season with the Browns kicked off, WR Jerry Jeudy told the media during training camp what his goals were going into the year.
"Just making plays consistently," Jeudy said. "Coming to Cleveland, that's the biggest thing that I want to show is just being able to show that I am a playmaker, that I can consistently make plays."
Through the first three weeks of the season, Jeudy has been a focal point of the Browns offense.
Jeudy is tied with WR Amari Cooper for the most receptions on the team with 12 and leads the Browns with 125 receiving yards. He scored the Browns' first touchdown of the season on a 6-yard reception against the Cowboys in Week 1.
After the Browns traded for Jeudy, the five-year receiver spoke of his versatility, saying he could play in the slot or on the outside. His ability to line up across the line of scrimmage has been utilized this season, with 17 of his targets coming when lined up on the outside, three when lined up in the slot and one when lined up in the backfield.
"Jerry's doing a nice job," head coach Kevin Stefanski said after the Browns' Week 2 win over the Jaguars. "We're going to continue to learn more about him and how to line him up, where to line him up, those types of things."
Jeudy put together his best game as a Brown in their lone win of the season, catching five passes for 73 yards against the Jaguars. When QB Deshaun Watson had to escape the pocket, Jeudy was often there, adjusting his route so that the quarterback could find him to make a play.
"I just always want to be in the vision of the quarterback," Jeudy said. "So, wherever he scrambles to, I just try to be in his vision and, if he sees me, just make a play on the ball."
Jeudy was drafted in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Broncos, where he spent the first four seasons of his career. His best season came in 2022, when he finished with 972 receiving yards and six touchdowns.
However, Jeudy was looking to start the next chapter of his career when he first arrived in Cleveland. In his first four seasons in the NFL, the 25-year-old has played with five different starting quarterbacks before joining the Browns.
"When I stepped in the building, just the energy and excitement that I received when I got there, that made me feel welcomed. I feel like it's a fresh start," Jeudy said during training camp.
Now that the season has started, the hope and promise of training camp has turned into a need to perform in the regular season. The Browns have gotten off to a shaky start offensively, scoring just 16.7 points per game, the eighth-lowest total in the NFL.
"We just need to play good football," Stefanski said. "Obviously, we've done it at times. At times, we've gotten in our own way. So that's the focus for us, is just playing good football."
Jeudy said that getting on the same page as an offense will be crucial in correcting their mistakes made so far this season.
"A lot of our plays was when one person would make a mistake, it would ruin the whole play," Jeudy said. "You need all 11 players on the same page, and that's the biggest thing. Once we're all on the same page and the same time, I feel like we're going to be really dangerous as a group."
A lot goes into getting all 11 players on the same page, and Jeudy's leadership has contributed to the Browns' efforts to do just that. After WR Cedric Tillman dropped a pass on fourth down on the final drive of the Giants game, Jeudy uplifted the young receiver by sharing a story from his rookie season.
"I told [Tillman], don't let one game define the type of player you are," Jeudy said. "Just understand that feeling and you don't want that feeling to happen anymore, so just keep grinding and keep working so it won't happen again."
Although he is still a young player himself, at 25-years-old, Jeudy has already made a positive impact on the Browns, on and off the field.
"Jerry's really put some time in here on the field and it's been great to have him out there working closely with the quarterback, working with his other teammates and he's been very helpful," wide receivers coach Chad O'Shea said ahead of the season.
