Broncos’ Jerry Jeudy knows ‘there’s better days ahead’

Denver Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy is determined to have a season that matches his skill set. And when that happens, he figures cornerback Patrick Surtain II will have helped him do so.

Jeudy has never played against Surtain in a game, but he’s gone against him in practice for four years – in 2018 and 2019 with Alabama and 2021 and 2022 with the Broncos, who made the former Crimson Tide All-Americans first-round picks in consecutive NFL drafts.

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“Pat the best DB I ever went against ever,” Surtain said during an appearance on the “I Am Athlete” podcast on Monday. “When I go against DBs, you can just tell. You beat them a couple of times easy. Pat, you really got to think, like, ‘All right, this is what I’m going to do.’ You can’t play around with Pat too much because the man different. He’s long, he’s smart, he’s fast. …

“Pat is like you’re going to catch the ball, ain’t no separation. He’s always on it, and the consistency level he be on – he’s the best.”

The SEC Defensive Player of the Year and a unanimous All-American for Alabama’s 2020 undefeated CFP national championship team, Surtain made the Pro Football Writers of America’s All-Rookie team in 2021 and earned first-team All-Pro recognition by The Associated Press in 2022 after joining Denver as the ninth selection in the 2021 NFL Draft.

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Jeudy also was an All-American at Alabama – receiving consensus status in 2018 and repeating as a member of the American Football Coaches Association’s first team for the 2019 season.

Since entering the NFL as the 15th pick in the 2020 draft, Jeudy ranks 57th in receptions, 35th in receiving yards and 77th in touchdown receptions with 157 receptions for 2,295 yards and nine touchdowns.

“It’s been a tough few years for my career,” Jeudy said. “First year, I played the whole season, but I had a couple of drops. I could have went for 1,000 yards, but I had a couple of drops that didn’t go good. My second year, I was getting off to a good start in the first game and got hurt. Missed like six, seven games, and that year was tough with the offense and everything. Last year, with everything going on, it was just – everything just wasn’t connecting. It wasn’t no consistency.”

The Broncos fired head coach Nathaniel Hackett with two games left in his first season with the team in 2022 and have replaced him with former New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton.

“In football, I know you go through things,” Jeudy said, “so I don’t let it hold me down because I know there’s better days ahead. I know I’m going to get to where I need to go. It’s on God’s timing, so I’m not really too stressed about it.”

Denver is in the final portion of its offseason program, when teams are allowed to conduct 10 days of organized team practice activity, usually referred to as OTAs. The Broncos held their first three OTA practices last week and have Tuesday through Thursday workouts this week. No contact work is permitted during these practices, but teams can expand their offseason workouts to include 7-on-7, 9-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills.

A mandatory minicamp also can be held during this period, which Denver has scheduled for June 13-15 before breaking for the summer.

“The biggest thing really is stamina,” Jeudy said of his offseason focus. “As a receiver, you need to be able to run all day, so that’s my biggest thing, really working on my stamina. Not getting so tired too fast. If I can run all day and be able to run the routes I can at full speed — not feeling tired — it’s a wrap for the DBs. It’s a wrap for those DBs, no cap.”

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.