Jerry Jeudy was a home run pick for John Elway and the Broncos

The Broncos offense has been painful to watch the past four seasons. It’s been obvious to anyone and everyone. They were the Sunday afternoon equivalent of watching paint dry, a cure for insomnia or whatever other bad analogy for brutally boring someone wants to apply.

And it wasn’t just the eye test that suggested that Denver was bad. The numbers tell the same story.

In 2016, the year after winning Super Bowl 50, the Broncos were 22nd in the league in scoring, averaging 20.8 points per game. The next season, they were 27th in the league, averaging 18.1 points.

The blame fell on the quarterbacks, as both Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch were jettison. Things didn’t get much better the next two seasons, with Case Keenum and Joe Flacco at the helm.

In 2018, Denver was 24th in the league, averaging 20.6 points per game. And last year, they were 28th in the NFL, averaging just 17.6 points.

How bad are those numbers? To put them into context, the Chiefs – the defending champs and the team the Broncos are looking up at in the AFC West – were fifth in the NFL last season in scoring, averaging 28.2 points per game. The team they beat in the Super Bowl, the 49ers, were second at 29.9 points per game.

In other words, the best teams in the league tend to have high-scoring offenses. Yes, the Broncos won a Super Bowl in 2015 by riding a great defense. But that recipe for success is an aberration; it doesn’t happen often and it’s hard to replicate.

The last four years have proven that fact. It didn’t matter how good Denver’s defense was from 2016-19, they weren’t stout enough to carry an anemic offense.

John Elway certainly is aware of this fact. It’s why he’s invested on that side of the ball in the last three drafts.

Two years ago, he grabbed Courtland Sutton with the 40th overall pick. In 2019, he spent the Broncos first three picks on Noah Fant, Dalton Risner and Drew Lock. And last night, he grabbed Jerry Jeudy, who most considered the best wideout in arguably the best receiver class of all-time, with the No. 15 pick.

Elway also signed Phillip Lindsay as an undrafted free agent in 2018 and signed Melvin Gordon during this year’s free agency period, giving the Broncos a dynamic duo in the backfield. All of a sudden, Denver has an embarrassment of riches – at least on paper – on offense. And most of them are young, still playing on their rookie contracts.

“The more weapons an offense has – whether it be multiple receivers, a tight end, running backs, a quarterback that is a good quarterback and moves too — the more of those that you have to defend, the harder it is on a defense,” Vic Fangio said in his post-draft press conference on Thursday night. “We’re looking to make our offense a little bit more stressful for people to defend.”

For some reason, however, a lot of Broncos Country is down on the Jeudy selection. The main argument against the pick is that it doesn’t make sense to take a wide receiver at No. 15.

That’s a silly notion. Last night, Henry Ruggs III went to the Raiders at No. 12 and CeeDee Lamb was picked by the Cowboys with the 17th pick. So the Broncos were right in the sweet spot.

It’s not as though Denver was taking a wideout when no one else was considering one. That’s the argument for not selecting interior offensive lineman, middle linebackers and running backs in the first half of the first round; there isn’t a lot of value in those positions at that point because no one else is shopping for them. But wide receiver doesn’t fall into that category.

The reality is that the quality of the pick ultimately comes down to how well Jeudy plays. If he turns into Mike Evans, Julio Jones or A.J. Green, no one will care that he was picked at No. 15. If he disappoints, the naysayers will add his name to the list of first-round wide receivers who didn’t pan out.

Of course, there’s a list of those players at every position. It’s not as though taking an offensive tackle in round one is guaranteed to be a 10-year starter. There are plenty of examples of that fact, including the player currently listed as the Broncos starter at left tackle.

The other knock on the selection of Jeudy is that it’s a high pick to spend on a No. 2 wide receiver, given that Sutton is currently the Broncos top pass catcher. That’s another misguided concern.

There’s nothing wrong with having a great second wideout. Denver has had success in recent years with one-two combos. Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker were part of the greatest offense in NFL history. DT and Emmanuel Sanders teamed up to win a Super Bowl. And going back two decades, Rod Smith and Ed McCaffrey helped the Broncos win back-to-back championships.

In other words, having two high-quality wideouts on the field at one time is a formula for success. And one look at Denver’s depth chart proves that wasn’t possible in 2020 without the Broncos signing a receiver in free agency, which they didn’t do, or selecting one in the draft.

Jeudy has been compared to Hall of Fame wideout Marvin Harrison, for his route-running skills and big-play ability. That’s ridiculously high praise, which will almost be impossible to live up to, but it does speak volumes about how good the newest Bronco can be.

“What we liked about Jerry was the fact that his route-running ability, his speed, being able to plant a foot, get out of a break, the experience that he has playing in the SEC, plus the production that he’s had,” Elway said on Thursday night. “We met with him in Indianapolis and really liked him, liked his mentality of what he thought about the game of football and how he wants to attack the game of football; it’s important to him. We’re glad we had an opportunity to pick and Jerry was our guy from the get-go.”

In fact, there’s a chance Sutton now turns out to be Denver’s No. 2 receiver. And that won’t be a bad thing. Imagine how good the Broncos offense will be if a Pro Bowl player is only their second-best wideout. That could turn into something special.

What a turn of events that would be. After four years of bad and boring, Denver could suddenly be good and entertaining.

Jeudy gets them closer to the latter category. A lot closer.

Denver’s offense needed a jumpstart in the worst way. Sutton, Fant and Lock were a start. Jeudy should be the final jolt they need.

That’s why he was a home run pick by the Broncos.

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