On March 9, 2024, the Cleveland Browns acquired wide receiver Jerry Jeudy from the Denver Broncos.
Jeudy was the No. 15 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and throughout his four seasons in Denver, he recorded 211 receptions for 3,053 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Let’s look back on the trade that sent Jeudy to Cleveland, breaking down why the Broncos moved the veteran wide receiver, what each team gave up, who won the deal, and more.
Jerry Jeudy Trade Details
Several days before the start of the NFL‘s new league, the Browns and Broncos agreed to terms on the Jeudy deal. Here are the trade details:
Browns Received
- Jerry Jeudy, WR
Broncos Received
- 2024 fifth-round pick, No. 136 overall (traded to Seattle Seahawks)
- 2024 sixth-round pick, No. 203 overall (traded to New York Jets)
Denver ultimately dealt both draft picks that they received from Cleveland in the 2024 NFL Draft. The Broncos traded the No. 203 overall pick to the New York Jets in exchange for fourth-year quarterback Zach Wilson.
Then, Denver included the No. 136 selection in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks to move up in the fourth round and select wide receiver Troy Franklin.
Players Involved in the Jeudy Trade
While Jeudy was the only player initially involved in the trade, it quickly evolved over the following weeks as the Broncos flipped both draft picks that they received into two players.
Wilson is currently backing up first-round rookie quarterback Bo Nix, while Franklin is contributing for the Broncos. Nix and Franklin have a relationship dating back to their college days, as they played together at Oregon.
Many were surprised to see Franklin fall to Day 3 in the 2024 NFL Draft, which is likely why the Broncos traded up for the opportunity to reunite him with his former college QB.
Who Won the Jeudy Trade?
While the Browns have seen the earliest return from this deal in 2024, it’s hard to say that they are the outright winners of the trade. After trading for Jeudy, the Browns signed the 25-year-old wide receiver to a three-year extension worth up to $58 million.
Although that deal might seem like a bargain given the going rate for wide receivers in the NFL, Jeudy is far from a proven player. In fact, the one consistent aspect of Jeudy’s game is that he has been inconsistent throughout his NFL career. He has dealt with several different injuries and has struggled to prove his status as a former first-round selection.
This year with the Browns, Jeudy has 45 catches for 645 yards and two touchdowns.
The Browns have experience trading for former Alabama wide receivers, as they acquired Amari Cooper from the Dallas Cowboys in 2022, which ultimately worked out for them. The deals for Jeudy and Cooper actually look similar. The Browns traded a fifth-round pick and a sixth-round pick to the Broncos for Jeudy and traded a fifth-round pick and swapped sixth-round picks with the Cowboys for Cooper.
Meanwhile, the Broncos had been shopping Jeudy for quite some time and now they added a pair of young players in exchange for the receiver.
It was clear that Denver wasn’t going to sign Jeudy to a contract extension, so the fact that they were able to receive two draft picks for him is impressive. The Broncos then parlayed those picks into a quarterback project and a Day 3 wide receiver with significant upside.
So far this season, Franklin has 19 receptions for 190 yards and two touchdowns in 11 games. Here’s what Pro Football Network’s NFL Draft Analyst Ian Cummings wrote about the former Oregon wide receiver in his pre-draft scouting report.
“In a movement-Z role where he can be schemed touches, separate at multiple levels, and use his speed to serve as a catalyst, he can be a high-end WR2 with quality starter upside — in a similar mold to Robbie Chosen,” Cummings wrote.
While there are certainly concerns about Franklin’s frame, which may have caused him to fall to Day 3, his established relationship with Nix is an added bonus. It’s rare that former college teammates get to play together in the NFL, let alone begin their professional careers on the same team.
This is the kind of trade that will be easier to evaluate in several years once we know how Franklin and Wilson panned out for Denver. For now, it looks like a deal that made sense for both parties involved.