2. Jerry Jeudy, Alabama
Height: 6’1″ Weight: 193
40-Yard Dash: 4.45 seconds
Bench Press: N/A
Vertical Jump: 35 inches
Broad Jump: 10 feet
3-Cone Drill: N/A
20-Yard Shuttle: 4.53 seconds
60-Yard Shuttle: N/A
Bio: Jerry Jeudy was one of the top wide receiver recruits coming out of high school, choosing Alabama over a home state option in the University of Miami. He contributed in a small way as a freshman in 2017, catching 14 passes for 264 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but exploded on the national stage as a sophomore in 2018. That season he caught 68 passes on 101 targets for 1,313 yards and 14 touchdowns, averaging a whopping 19.3 yards per reception. Last year he still managed to put up prodigious receiving numbers in a crowded group of receivers, catching 77 passes on 108 targets for 1,163 yards and ten touchdowns.
Stat to Know: Jeudy played both in the slot and on the outside at Alabama, and a season ago he saw 326 snaps inside compared with 271 out wide, according to charting from Pro Football Focus. But he does real damage from the slot, averaging 3.49 yards per route run from the slot over the past two seasons.
Strengths: It is rare to find a complete route-runner coming out of the college game, but this wide receiver class provides some prospects who can give an offense almost a complete route tree coming out of college. Jeudy is no exception. He is the quintessential “full-body route runner,” who can use everything from head to toe to get a defender off balance and then get separation working away form them. Watch, for example, this stop route against Clemson:
Jeez. @jerryjeudy has a PHD in route-running. Dude is going to be a star in the NFL. pic.twitter.com/HcqY9PMOIP
— uSTADIUM (@uSTADIUM) March 28, 2020
Jeudy’s footwork and short-area quickness stands out here, but don’t ignore how he even uses his head at the top of the route, selling the cornerback on a potential vertical stem before finally breaking this off short and working back to the quarterback. This is elite work from the wide receiver here.
What also shows up on this route is Jeudy’s ability to manipulate the leverage of the defensive back on a route. The cornerback immediately snaps his hips to the middle of the field after the snap, giving Jeudy the inside angle but taking away the boundary. Jeudy uses that to his advantage by working into the cornerback’s “blind spot” on the outside, and then breaks off his route to make himself available for the QB.
Another strength of Jeudy’s comes at the catch point. He has solid hands, and can win against most cornerbacks even on those “50/50,” contested-catch situation.
Weaknesses: While Jeudy showed promising speed and change-of-direction ability on film, his three-cone time has some wondering if he can take what he put on film and translate it to the NFL. Jeudy also did not face press coverage as much as other receivers in this class, so he will need to show he can consistently beat press in the NFL, otherwise he might be limited to a slot receiver role as he learns that part of the game.
Conclusion: Jeudy has demonstrated over the past two seasons that he can be an extremely effective receiver at the next level. He gives almost a complete route tree on Day 1, and players with his footwork and full body technique can get separation from NFL defensive backs, which after all is the job of a WR. He is a schematically diverse receiver who can step into any NFL offense and contribute right away.
Comparison: It is hard to avoid comparing Jeudy to some of the previous Alabama receivers, but his route-running – from a full body element – is very reminiscent of Amari Cooper.
Lamb | Jeudy | Ruggs III | Shenault | Jefferson | Higgins | Mims | Reagor | Aiyuk | Pittman | Johnson