Lost in Woody Johnson story: Jerry Jeudy having phenomenal season for Browns

Madden ratings are a big deal to NFL players. They’re also a big deal to Woody Johnson, according to The Athletic writers who reported Thursday that the Jets owner nixed a trade last spring to acquire Jerry Jeudy from the Broncos. But don’t let any of that detract from how well Jeudy has played for the Browns.

Writers Zack Rosenblatt, Dianna Russini and Michael Silver said former Jets general manager Joe Douglas in March called his Broncos counterpart, George Paton, with an interesting reason for calling off the trade that would’ve put Jeudy in a Jets uniform.

“Douglas told the Broncos that Johnson didn’t want to make the trade because the owner felt Jeudy’s player rating in ‘Madden NFL,’ the popular video game, wasn’t high enough, according to multiple league sources,” the writers documented.

Instead, Paton sent Jeudy to Cleveland on March 13 for fifth- and sixth-round selections in the 2024 draft. Six days later, Andrew Berry and the Browns inked Jeudy to a three-year contract extension.

What Jeudy did next is what’s lost in the hoopla of the Johnson story. Not only has the fifth-year receiver authored a career season, he’s done it with three quarterbacks. Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who’s thrown 34 passes this season in reserve action, will become Cleveland’s third starting quarterback when the Browns (3-11) visit Cincinnati (6-8) on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, CBS). Cleveland started Deshaun Watson and Jameis Winston seven times each before benching Winston last week. Watson ranked among the league’s lowest quarterbacks in passer rating prior to season-ending Achilles’ surgery. Winston ranked among league leaders in interceptions.

Still, Jeudy found a way to shine. In fact, last week he became just the third player in the league to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark, following Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson. CeeDee Lamb and Amon-Ra St. Brown followed suit in the late-afternoon window on Sunday. Jeudy enters the Bengals game with career highs in both yards (1,052) and receptions (70). He needs two more touchdown catches to match his 2022 career best, six.

“We didn’t have the season that we want as a team,” Jeudy said last week, per Mark Inabinett of AL.com. “That’s the most important part, and it’s kind of tough. But having a thousand yards, that’s a great feeling because all the great receivers reach the thousand-yard limit, and I feel like I’m one of the receivers that could consistently do that.”

Jeudy consistently doing that is huge for the Browns, who don’t know their starting quarterback in 2025. Whether that player is Watson, Winston or anyone else, knowing they can depend on Jeudy is a blindingly bright positive as they reshape their roster.

Ironically, Denver used the sixth-round pick it acquired from Cleveland to get quarterback Zach Wilson from the Jets. The league’s two longest postseason droughts entering 2024 belonged to the Jets (2010) and Broncos (2015).

For more information on the Browns and Jets, visit the Cleveland and N.Y. Jets team pages at ProFootballPost.com.