WR Jerry Jeudy is the next player on his way out of Denver as he heads to the Cleveland Browns in a pre-free agency trade. Jeudy’s career has stumbled and stuttered to this point with flashes of excellence. However, the former first-round pick never managed to fully deliver on his potential in Denver.
Now Jeudy heads to Cleveland, where he will play alongside Amari Cooper, Deshaun Watson, and David Njoku. This addition potentially has huge fantasy football ramifications for the Browns’ offense. Let’s take a look at what we can expect from the likes of Jeudy, Cooper, Njoku, Watson, and others in 2024.
What Is the Fantasy Impact of Jerry Jeudy Being Traded to the Cleveland Browns?
In terms of Jeudy himself, this should be a slight boost to his immediate value. With Russell Wilson having been released by the Broncos, the situation in Denver is up in the air. Therefore, getting more certainty in the quarterback situation should be viewed as a bonus for Jeudy’s fantasy value.
We have only seen Jeudy finish as a top 20 WR once in his career when he finished as the WR18 in 2022. In that season, he set career highs for receptions, yards, and touchdowns, while playing 15 of the 17 games.
The biggest boost in that season compared to his others was in targets and receptions per game. Jeudy averaged 6.67 targets per game and 4.5 receptions per game. The only time he has eclipsed that number in terms of targets was his rookie year, but he only caught 52 of the 113 targets. It is also the only other time he has eclipsed 100 fantasy points.
To say that volume is crucial is hardly going to surprise anyone, but for Jeudy, that has really been the case in his career. Nothing else about his numbers in 2022 stands out compared to the other seasons. The good news for Jeudy is that there is potentially a 100-target season up for grabs if he can beat out Elijah Moore for the WR2 role.
Last season, Moore was third on the team with 104 targets, which he converted into 59 receptions, 640 yards, and two touchdowns. Those are numbers that you have to believe make it more than possible for Jeudy to cement himself as the Browns’ WR2 and put himself in the frame for a WR2-type season if everything clicks.
Most likely, you are looking at Jeudy as either a WR3 or Flex-type option in 2024, but he has the upside that you often look for in those mid-to-late-round picks. If he settles in with an ADP in Rounds 10-15, he would make for an intriguing upside selection.
What Is the Impact on Amari Cooper’s Fantasy Value?
At an initial glance, it would feel like the arrival of Jeudy has a limited impact on Cooper’s fantasy value. We would still expect Cooper to be the lead receiver for the Browns after his strong season. The bigger question for Cooper is how he and Watson click if the Browns’ WR1 can manage to play a full season in 2024.
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In the last two years, Cooper is averaging more than two fewer points per game when Watson plays. With Watson, Cooper sees dips in targets, receptions, touchdowns, and yards per game. Cooper has finished as the WR8 and WR16 in the last two years, but Watson has only played 12 of the 34 games for the Browns.
Could David Njoku’s Fantasy Value Dip With Jeudy’s Arrival?
Njoku could very well be more impacted than Cooper if Jeudy sees significant usage. Last year, Njoku was second on the team with 123 targets, and it led to a top-five fantasy season at the tight end position. If Jeudy is the one that gets to 120 targets and Njoku gets left around the 100 mark, that could knock him down a few spots.
Ultimately, Njoku should still be a starting tight end to open the season if he is healthy. The biggest issue would be if the Browns decide to utilize four pass catchers, with Moore retaining some usage. Last year, the fourth receiver/tight end in the offense only saw 44 targets (Cedric Tillman). If that number goes up for Jeudy or Moore, it is going to hurt everyone’s ceiling from a pass-catching perspective.
Njoku also has the same concern as Cooper in terms of his struggles with Watson under center. In Watson’s games, Njoku averages four fewer points per game in PPR scoring than without Watson. Much like with Cooper, it is a decrease across the board and something that should make fantasy managers nervous.
Does Jeudy’s Arrival Impact Deshaun Watson’s Fantasy Value?
Giving Watson more weapons can only be a good thing for his fantasy value. It protects the passing game from an injury to a wide receiver and should hopefully provide Watson with more playmaking options to whom he could get the ball. Watson has only played 12 games in the last three years, so he is a tough player to judge for 2024.
Ultimately, the hope will be that this can make him a top-12 or at least a streaming option for the 2024 season. However, staying healthy is going to be a way bigger determinant of Watson’s fantasy value than the arrival of Jeudy.
Elijah Moore and Cedric Tillman See Their Fantasy Value Take a Hit
The arrival of Jeudy really hurts both Moore and Tillman. Moore saw over 100 targets last year but was unable to turn that into anything more than a 60th-ranked finish at the position. He would likely have been in line for similar usage as the WR2, but given his struggles for consistency, he could also have seen his place under threat from Tillman.
Tillman only saw 44 targets as a rookie and would have been hoping to push for a larger role in 2024. It would seem likely that, at the very least, the arrival of Jeudy slows the timeframe on that. Tillman now has to pass both Moore and Jeudy if he wants to be the WR2.
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Any thoughts you may have had of drafting either Moore or Tillman as a late-round flyer has now been pretty much wiped out by this move for Jeudy.