The Cleveland Browns are looking the way of rookie wide receiver Denzel Boston early and often this season, while former Pro Bowler Jerry Jeudy has been mostly on the outside looking in at the inner circle of the offense.
Jeudy has just two catches for 26 yards on five total targets across two games, which reporters asked head coach Todd Monken to explain on Monday, September 21 following the team’s road win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“The moment that Jerry gets more targets, you’re all going to be asking me why Harold [Fannin Jr.] isn’t, or why isn’t KC [Concepcion]. There’s only one football,” Monken said, per Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN. “Jerry’s opportunities will come. It’s just like I said, a little bit by game plan and others, that the ball just didn’t find him.”
Jerry Jeudy Has Gone From Pro Bowler to Afterthought in Cleveland in Just 2 Years
Jeudy has made sense as a trade chip ever since the Browns drafted Concepcion in Round 1 and Boston early in Round 2 of last spring’s NFL draft.
Ken Carman of 92.3 The Fan is the most recent analyst to bring up a Jeudy trade, which he did Tuesday.
“I need Denzel Boston to get fed, I need KC Concepcion on get fed, Harold Fannin, etc.,” Carman said. “And if you can get anything for Jerry Jeudy, if I get a sixth-round pick in return, whatever.”
Jeudy was a Pro Bowler in 2024, eclipsing 1,200 receiving yards on 90 catches and pulling down four TDs. He also commanded north of 100 targets in four of his first six seasons up until this year with either the Denver Broncos or the Browns.
It is fair for anyone familiar with the team and Jeudy’s volatile personality to question just how long the $52 million wideout will accept the 2.5 targets per game he’s currently averaging.
Jeudy has also had public issues with backup quarterback Shedeur Sanders in the past, and Sanders could well take over the starting quarterback role at some point this season. Though, it doesn’t appear he will do so in Week 3 against the Carolina Panthers after Deshaun Watson led the Browns to a win over the Buccaneers on Sunday.
Denzel Boston Has Already Become Top Target in Browns’ Offense
The attention that Boston is getting, both in the offense and from the media, may not help matters in Cleveland either.
The rookie WR logged five receptions for 95 yards in Tampa Bay and scored a 55-yard touchdown. He has seven grabs 154 yards and two touchdowns across two games on more than twice the targets Jeudy has received over that same stretch (11).
Boston has appeared on 93 percent of the Browns’ offensive snaps, while Jeudy has played 61 percent of Cleveland’s snaps in that phase of the game.
Then on Tuesday, the league put up Boston as a candidate for its Rookie of the Week award.
“#Browns WR Denzel Boston has been nominated for NFL Rookie of the Week after his Week 2 performance against the Buccaneers,” Camryn Justice of WEWS reported via X Tuesday.
Browns’ Monken Sounds Off on Jerry Jeudy Amid Trade Whispers