6 NFL rookies who will be letdowns in year one

5. Jerry Jeudy, WR, Denver Broncos

Seeing Jerry Jeudy on this list is undoubtedly going to make many people angry. And to be sure, this is not an indictment on the Alabama wide receiver. I had Jeudy as the No. 2 wide receiver in the 2020 draft class and praised him continuously. The expectation should very much be for Jeudy to be one of the best route-runners in the NFL relatively early on in his career. We just won’t see all of that in year one.

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The Broncos selecting Jeudy with the No. 15 overall pick was part of a huge offensive overhaul the organization made this offseason. Not only did they select Jeudy but they complimented him in the following round with the speedy K.J. Hamler out of Penn State. Throw in signing Melvin Gordon in free agency and it’s clear that Denver had a singular goal in mind this offseason: Get weapons for Drew Lock.

That, however, is where the problem lies. Lock looked quite good when he was activated off IR and took the starting job for the final five games of the Broncos’ 2019 season. He led the team to a 4-1 record while completing 64.1 percent of his passes for 1,020 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions. But it was only five games, a fact that seems lost on people.

In the simplest terms, I don’t expect Lock to be that good over a 16-game season in his second year in the NFL. He still has many things to iron out and the offensive line situation in front of him is quite troubling at well. And if the quarterback is a question mark, so too is his receiving group, which would leave Jeudy not being the immediate impact pass-catcher many in Denver hope he can be this season.