Jerry Jeudy's 'made so much progress' in new Browns offense with or without on-field work

BEREA — There was one player Jerry Jeudy made abundantly clear he was looking forward to playing with once he was acquired by the Browns in March.

Fellow South Floridian and University of Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper .

"I'm excited to play with Coop," Jeudy said during a March introductory Zoom call. "Like I said, I've been watching him for a long time, so me watching him and actually studying him made me become a better player. So now actually being next to him and actually hearing his opinions on things, on how to run certain routes is going to help me, impact me extremely well. So I'm excited to see how this thing goes."

The Browns are two weeks removed from the conclusion of their offseason program, and about four weeks away from the start of training camp. Jeudy's much-anticipated on-field connection with Cooper, though, still has yet to occur, at least in front of outside witnesses.

Cooper was not at any of the Browns' voluntary OTAs, then drew three days' worth of fines for missing mandatory minicamp. The 30-year-old veteran wide receiver, the first Browns wide receiver to post back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons, has been looking for a contract extension as he enters into the final year of his deal.

Jeudy, meanwhile, received a three-year, $52.5 million extension from the Browns less than a week after being acquired from the Denver Broncos in a trade. He did not participate in the on-field portion of minicamp due to an undisclosed injury.

So, if you're keeping track, that's the top two wide receivers projected for the Browns who were not able to or chose not to participate in minicamp. The key, though, was that Jeudy was at least present in the building, which is why his absence from on-field work was dismissed as a major concern in the moment.

"All of that is timing," quarterback Deshaun Watson said earlier this month. "Guys got to make sure they take care of different things, and Jeudy's another guy who's been here mentally and taking mental reps but making sure he's taking care of his body, too. And the staff knows exactly what they need to do for him, and I just can't wait until we all get together and we have a lot of reps during training camp and especially this offseason, we’re all in the same area so we'll be good."

Jeudy not being on the field for minicamp would've drawn attention regardless of Cooper's presence. The crown jewel of the Browns' offseason acquisitions, he's been highlighted in a lot in the discussions about the new offensive scheme being concocted by coach Kevin Stefanski and new offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey.

There's been a lot of conversation with regards to the new offense and, specifically, the passing game that have centered around the use of "choice routes" in which the receiver breaks various ways depending on how a defender is playing him. Jeudy has been seen as the receiver who may benefit the most, or at least be the one who is featured significantly, by these choice routes.

"I mean, choice routes and with other routes, it’s really time invested in the amount of time you can spend on the field with the quarterback, that’s the most valuable thing you can do," wide receivers coach Chad O'Shea said at the end of minicamp. "You know, we can show film, we can get the playbooks out, and we can look at the playbooks and look at the drawings. But, at the end of the day, what’s most important is the quarterbacks are on the same page with the receivers, and the only way to do that is to get on the field and work together."

So, wouldn't that mean Jeudy's lack of on-field work during minicamp should've been viewed as a concern? Obviously, the concern really ratchets up if the injury continues to nag him deep into training camp.

Still, not being on the field means not getting on the same page with Watson, especially if choice routes are going to be a key task assigned to Jeudy. Or is the reality that it's, at least for now, much ado about nothing?

"Coach Stefanski’s structured our offseason program in a way in which, you know, a player can take advantage of walkthroughs, meeting time he’s structured for us," O'Shea said. "So, Jerry's made so much progress learning the offense, learning his teammates in a setting that just necessarily hasn’t been on the field all the time.

"So, we’ve gotten a lot out of having great walkthroughs in which he’s very attentive and trying to learn the offense, the meeting room setting, there’s been a lot of communication with him and the quarterbacks to be on the same page. So that’s been really neat to see that you don’t necessarily have to always jump on the field every day to make progress and become a better player and help our team win.”

Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Jerry Jeudy's 'made so much progress' in new Browns offense with or without on-field work