Draftables: WR, Jerry Jeudy, Alabama
Wide Receiver, Jerry Jeudy
School: Alabama
Height: 6’1
Weight: 193 lbs.
Wingspan: 76
Testing Results
Compared to the average figures of the top 30 wideouts shown in RED
Scouting Report
The alpha dog of Alabama’s truly unfair four-headed receiving corps (all of whom have a chance to be selected in the first round of this and next year’s draft), Jeudy won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top wideout as a true sophomore (2018) and was a back-to-back first-team All-American for the Tide (despite the missed time from Tua).
Often what separates the top wideouts from the middle-of-the-pack is that they don’t waste motion, and everything Jeudy does is efficient and clean. An absolute technician, Jeudy is as advanced a route runner as I’ve seen on the college level and is as pro-ready as any wideout in this draft. He’s lightning-quick off the line of scrimmage, showing a wide arsenal of releases and excellent foot speed both in shedding press coverage and making breaks and turns off of his vertical stem. He paces his routes, leverages different coverages, and sets up defensive backs with stems and body lean before shifting gears and breaking in the opposite direction in a blur. In fact, he gets so much separation that it can often make his highlight reels boring, as he’s so wide open that the end result doesn’t look impressive:
A high character guy with a well-known work ethic, he has good field smarts and has shown the ability to get open against man coverage and find the soft spot in zones. And while he’s not a burner, he possesses the immediate upfield turn and the burst to create after the catch. Whether it’s a jab step off the line, an effortless break out of a route, plucking a late-seen ball under duress, or a video game like stop-juke…
…all of Jeudy’s game centers around his incredible quickness.
While Jeudy possesses enticing “plug-and-play” ability, there’s much debate as to what his ceiling is in the pros. While incredibly quick, he is not a truly special athlete and played alongside a full stable of NFL talent. He gears down his hips to make breaks in a hurry, but there are times where he looks a bit stiff in his approach. That stiffness is sometimes seen in his hands as well, which are undeniably fast enough to make difficult grabs, but lack the easy full-extension grace of someone like Lamb.
In addition, his average length but below-average frame causes concern for some scouts, as Jeudy lacks the power to break many tackles and has had his issues with focus drops over the middle. Jump balls and contested catches have never really been his forte, but he had eight drops (mostly coming in traffic) in 2019 after only three in 2018. Now is that a sign of things to come? A product of him being asked to become less of a deep threat and more of a high-volume target? Or were the increased drops simply an anomaly? Jeudy is incredibly quick and certainly fast enough, but he’s not a pure blazer. Will that quickness and route running acumen make up for his questionable talents when the ball’s in the air?
Make no mistake, there are PLENTY of draft analysts and prognosticators (and likely scouts) who see both Lamb and Jeudy as top ten talents with sky-high potential. And barring injury, there is practically zero chance that Jerry Jeudy is a bust. He’s too quick and too polished NOT to find a long-time role in the league. The question is what kind of role that ultimately becomes.
Fit with Niners
Jeudy would immediately take over Emmanuel Sanders’ role, playing all over the field but — at least initially — primarily out of the slot. Unlike Ruggs, who we’d scheme looks based on speed, or Lamb, who we’d use mostly on 50/50 down the field balls and YAC yardage opportunities, Jeudy would be expected to run a large route tree from the jump as we develop him into a three-level threat with inside-out ability.
There have been many draft pundits who think Shanahan will fall in love with Jeudy’s route running and quickness, and one vocal one who thinks the opposite. But Shanahan’s interest in Jeudy may ultimately depend on how well he thinks the Bama product’s route-running and speed will translate into becoming a viable deep threat in the NFL.
We already have excellent underneath options in Kittle and Deebo, and Bourne is primarily used on intermediate routes. What we need is someone who can get open deep. Even an older Emmo could do this in spurts (see: the would-be Super Bowl-winning post against double coverage) and that drastically opened up our offense. Even if Jeudy proves to be mostly a slot receiver in the pros, if he can take the top off of the defense and open up space underneath, that could certainly be enough to take our offense to the next level.
NFL Comparisons
Floor: Julian Edelman, Kent State (Patriots)
Edelman is a good player. People who have worn an Antoine Walker jersey in public in the past five years would even argue that he’s a great player. But ultimately, he’s a reliable high-usage slot receiver who fits in a tailor-made scheme that plays to his strengths: using quickness to get open underneath. Even if Jeudy doesn’t develop the physicality, hands in traffic, and vertical ability as he transitions into the NFL, and even if he turns out to be 90% a slot receiver, he should still be at least a good slot receiver who gets open early.
Note: If you’re looking for a comparison between Jeudy’s floor and ceiling, think slender Amari Cooper. Good athlete, great route runner, but doesn’t have the best hands in the world.
Ceiling: Emmo Sanders, SMU (Saints) / Antonio Brown, Central Michigan (currently…)
Both of the above names are two inches shorter and ~10 pounds lighter than Jeudy, but they overcame size limitations due to their quickness, route running savvy, and the fact that no matter the route they were ALWAYS open. While not as fluid as the above names, Jeudy has the traits to develop into a similar three-level threat as Sanders/Brown in their primes. But that means cleaning up the focus drops and improving through contact.
Mock Drafts
