Browns Predicted to Trade 2nd-Round Pick for $28 Million WR
The Cleveland Browns began an overhaul of the offensive coaching staff on Wednesday and improvements to the wide receiver room shouldn’t be far behind.
Cleveland could attempt to do so in a number of ways, though Alex Kay of Bleacher Report predicted on Tuesday, January 16, that the team will trade a 2024 second-round selection to the Denver Broncos for former No. 15 overall pick Jerry Jeudy.
While the Denver Broncos have been reticent to deal Jeudy in the past, this spring could finally bring a change of heart. … Denver’s brass has also made it clear they plan to make some moves to stockpile more picks in the upcoming draft.
If the Broncos are willing to take a Day 2 selection — Cleveland has decent picks in the second (No. 54) and third (No. 86) rounds — for Jeudy, the cash-strapped organization can shed some salary and get some much-needed capital back.
The Browns have made attempts to deal for Jeudy before, and despite a down season for the 24-year-old wideout in 2023, there is no reason the team should be any less interested in him now.
Jeff Legwold of ESPN reported on December 16 that Cleveland took “multiple runs” at Jeudy last year, though the Broncos were unwilling to accept anything less than a first-round pick. Their position on Jeudy’s trade value may now have changed, as the wideout enters the fifth-year team option on his rookie deal and will hit free agency in March 2025.
Denver is also resetting at the quarterback position and is likely to move on from QB Russell Wilson in the coming months after new head coach Sean Payton benched the former Super Bowl winner at the end of last year.
That Jeudy’s production dipped in his fourth NFL season may also play a factor in both Denver’s willingness to trade him and how much that franchise will demand in return. The wideout made 54 catches for 758 yards and 2 TDs during the 2023 campaign, per Pro Football Reference, after producing career-highs in catches (67), yards (972) and TDs (6) the season prior.
Jerry Jeudy Offers Browns Affordable Talent Team Needs in 2024, Beyond
The coming season would be an ideal time for the Browns to trade their way into the Jeudy business for several reasons.
The former first-round wideout signed a $15.2 million rookie deal, which he just played out in Denver in 2023. His fifth-year option, worth just shy of $13 million, runs through 2024.
Jeudy is a serviceable starter but hasn’t proven himself beyond that over four NFL seasons. He is also certain to play second-fiddle to five-time Pro Bowler Amari Cooper if he lands in Cleveland this coming year.
The Browns won’t pursue Jeudy if they don’t believe he can be productive in their offense, but it’s unlikely the team will have to worry about paying him No. 1 WR money in 2025.
If Jeudy can replicate the production he put forth in 2022 then his next contract is likely to be worth more than the approximately $28 million he will have earned over his first five years in the NFL. But he won’t break the Browns’ bank, which is a necessary characteristic of any receiver the team signs this offseason, as its salary cap number heading into 2024 is close to -$14 million as of Wednesday.
