ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Mock draft after mock draft projected the Broncos would take a wide receiver with the 15th-overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Turns out, it wasn’t a smokescreen.
The Broncos selected former Alabama wide receiver Jerry Jeudy with the 15th-overall pick in the first round of Thursday’s NFL Draft.
In the process, the Broncos added arguably the best wide receiver in a historically talented draft class.
Jeudy, a 6-foot-1, 193-pound player, is widely believed to be the best route-runner in this year’s draft, and he should provide an instant jolt to the Broncos’ offense.
He was the second receiver drafted, behind only his college teammate Henry Ruggs III.
Jeudy caught 144 passes for 2,478 yards and 24 touchdowns over his last two seasons at Alabama. In 2018, after catching 68 passes for 1,315 yards and 14 touchdowns, Jeudy won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s best receiver.
He joins Pro Bowl wide receiver Courtland Sutton in Denver and should become a dangerous weapon for second-year quarterback Drew Lock.
Jeudy is the first player that John Elway has drafted from Alabama. The Broncos had not drafted a wide receiver in the first round since they selected Demaryius Thomas in 2010.
The Broncos’ are scheduled to pick next in the second round with the 46th-overall pick.
