Jerry Jeudy will be one of the main players catching passes from whomever the Browns QB may be this year. He's confident the right one will be found.
BEREA — Jerry Jeudy is a wide receiver, not a coach. But should the Browns Pro Bowler have some input in the decision-making process for who ultimately ends up throwing him the ball on Sundays during the season?
"I mean, that's not my place," Jeudy said after the fourth training camp practice July 26. "But, I mean, if they ask me, I’ll give my opinion for sure, but that's not my place to answer. I'm letting Coach [Kevin Stefanski] make the decision on that."
The competition has been, at least publicly, a four-way battle so far between the experienced veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett, as well as the rookie duo of Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. In terms of team series for each quarterback, of the 42 total, it's basically been a gap of three from the most (Gabriel, 12) and the fewest (Flacco, nine), with each quarterback descending by one fewer series.
Pickett did sustain a hamstring injury during Saturday’s practice. He’s expected to be re-evaluated later this week.
Jeudy, however, has yet to get any reps with Sanders in team series. The fifth-round pick is the only one not to take a series with the first-unit offense/offensive line, with Flacco getting eight, Pickett seven and Gabriel four.
There's a chance the start of the second week of training camp could include an alteration to the number of reps for the quarterbacks, depending on the coaching staff's evaluations. Although not involved in that discussion, Jeudy said he's seen progress from the entire group through the first four practices.
"No, it's been great," Jeudy said. "I've seen them guys getting better each day. They working towards their goals, working hard and doing what they're supposed to do on the field and off the field to be better than it was the day before."
Jeudy has caught plenty of passes over the course of the first four days from all of the quarterbacks at some point. The first several periods of each practice involve various routes on air, with the wide receivers working with all four passers.
However, in team drills, Jeudy has only had eight receptions combined from three quarterbacks. Five are from Pickett, two from Flacco and one from Gabriel, although all three of them have several throws in his direction that have missed the mark for a variety of reasons.
None of that is a concern for Jeudy as far as the long-term outlook. Although the preseason games start Aug. 8 at the Carolina Panthers — with a joint practice there Aug. 6 — the games that matter don't begin until Sept. 7, when the Cincinnati Bengals come to Cleveland for the regular-season opener.
"There's more than enough time," Jeudy said. "This is only day four, but we got 30 to 40 days left to the real season, so we got more than enough time. And that, for me, I'm going to just keep doing me like I always say — just make the job easier for the quarterback, and that's to get open and create separation."
Getting the "right" quarterback is critical for Jeudy, who's looking to build upon a stellar first season in Cleveland. He set a franchise single-season record for receptions with 91, while posting his first 1,000-yard receiving season with 1,229.
However, there was a clear delineation in Jeudy's success depending on the quarterback behind center. He struggled getting on the same page with Deshaun Watson before his Week 7 Achilles injury, then was hit-or-miss with Dorian Thompson-Robinson during his two starts and four appearances and only had one game with Bailey Zappe in the season finale.
It was with Jameis Winston that Jeudy thrived, with 65 targets resulting in 47 catches for 769 yards and three touchdowns.
Jeudy will have to try to replicate the success he had last season with at least one new quarterback this season. He's putting the onus on himself, though, to make it work regardless of who ends up being the Browns' starter.
"Every year I'm going to always think and believe that I can always be better than the year prior," Jeudy said. "I worked hard towards that during the offseason and even during the season. So hopefully that happens, and I got extreme confidence that will happen."
Chris Easterling can be reached at [email protected]. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Jerry Jeudy says 'more than enough time' left to figure out Browns QB
Category: General Sports
