CLEVELAND, Ohio — Going into Week 15, Jerry Jeudy ranks fourth in the NFL in receiving yards this season (944). However, 678 of those yards have come from Jameis Winston dating back Week 8, also Winston’s first start.
Jeudy and Winston click in a form that’s helped display some of the best offense we’ve seen from the Browns this season.
It’s an increase in cohesion with them, compared to when Jeudy played with Deshaun Watson for the first seven weeks. Not that Jeudy and Watson had no connection, but the performance of the pairing went sour in the last couple games together this season.
However, through 14 weeks, Jeudy has been more productive with Winston than Watson in 2024.
Here’s why:
To best understand Jeudy’s performance with both quarterbacks, we’ll compare through numerous analytical categories to examine what areas he was better or worse with them in.
But first, here’s an overview of Jeudy’s season totals, divided by both quarterbacks.
Season totals (through Week 14)
Jeudy has caught 59 of his 97 targets for 944 yards (16.0 per reception), four touchdowns and 42 receiving first downs.
| Weeks 1-7 w/Watson | Totals | Weeks 7-14 w/Winston | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catches | 20 | Catches | 39 | |
| Receptions | 36 | Receptions | 59 | |
| Receiving yards | 248 | Receiving yards | 696 | |
| Receiving yards per reception | 12.4 | Receiving yards per reception | 17.84 | |
| Receiving first downs | 12 | Receiving first downs | 32 | |
| Touchdowns | 1 | Touchdowns | 3 |
The season totals include the Week 7 loss to Cincinnati, as both Watson and Winston played in that game.
Watson threw zero targets to Jeudy before suffering his season-ending Achilles tear, while Winston played in Cleveland’s last series and completed one of his four targets to Jeudy for 18 yards.
YAC
Jeudy’s total yards after catches, or YAC, sits at 265 (4.5 yards after catch per reception). Among qualifying wide receivers, he ranks 21st in total yards, and 42nd in yards after catch per reception.
Though this statistical category has more to do with the receiver, and how many yards they gain after making the catch, it can intertwine with trends regarding quarterback play.
Depending how long the ball takes to get to the receiver, can determine how many yards they gain after making the catch.
Watson
Jeudy totaled 47 YAC when playing with Watson, translating to an average of 6.71 yards per catch, per PFF.
His single-game high with Watson was in Week 6 versus Philadelphia, when gaining 18 more yards after making the catch, which ended in a 35-yard reception.
Winston
The one element that’s intertwined with the duo is big plays.
During Winston’s starting tenure between weeks 8-14, Jeudy’s totaled 216 YAC. This would translate to an average of 36.0 yards after the catch per reception, but there’s a reason for why it’s inflated.
His single-game high YAC with Winston was in Week 13 versus Denver, when gaining 99 yards after the catch. During the game, Jeudy had a 44-yard reception and a 70-yard receiving touchdown, in which he gained big yards on the run.
His second-highest was in Week 11 versus New Orleans, gaining 72 total yards after making the catch. During that game, Jeudy had an 89-yard receiving touchdown, one in which he was found open downfield and made it a track race to the endzone.
Deep-field accuracy
Through Week 14, Jeudy has caught seven of his 16 deep targets that traveled 20 or more yards downfield, for 292 yards and three touchdowns (41.7 per reception), per Pro Football Focus.
Watson
Because the Browns offense was conservative with Watson, that led to fewer passes that traveled deep.
Watson only threw 19 passes for 20 or more yards on the season, completing four of them for 96 yards, per PFF.
Watson threw five deep passes to Jeudy, but only one was completed; a 30-yard reception in the Week 2 win over Jacksonville. For Jeudy, who was known as a potential deep-field threat in Denver, that never matriculated with Watson in 2024.
Winston
There are two things you can expect with Winston: he won’t second-guess his passes, and he’s going to throw deep.
Going into Week 15, Winston has already thrown 30 passes for 20 or more yards, completing 13 of them for 466 yards and seven touchdowns, per PFF. He ties for 19th in the NFL in overall deep-passing grading (83.5), and ranks 20th in total yards.
He has thrown 11 deep passes to Jeudy, and six have been caught, for 262 yards (43.6 per reception) and three touchdowns, per PFF.
Those three touchdowns have come in the last four games; an 89-yarder in Week 11 versus New Orleans, a 70-yarder in Week 13 versus Denver, and a 35-yarder in Week 14 versus Pittsburgh.
Air yards
Jeudy’s averaging 95.9 receiving air yards per game on the season, which is ranked 10th among qualifying wide receivers, per FTN Fantasy.
Here’s how his performance was with both quarterbacks.
Watson
Between Weeks 1-6 with Watson in the pocket, Jeudy totaled 464 receiving air yards (77.3 per game). By the end of Week 6, Jeudy ranked 21st in total air yards received, but 29th in air yards per game, per FTN Fantasy.
His single-game high air yards received with Watson this season was in the Week 1 loss to Dallas (116).
Winston
Between Weeks 8-14 with Winston in the pocket, Jeudy’s totaled 696 receiving air yards (116.0 per game). Dating back to Week 8 since Winston became the starter, Jeudy ranks fourth in air yards per game, and fifth in total air yards received.
His single-game high air yards received with Winston so far this season was in the Week 13 loss to Denver (206).
Average time to throw
This category relates to the average amount of seconds it takes a quarterback to throw the ball. The reason for adding this category, is because it adds context to Jeudy’s play with both guys.
Watson is tied with Houston’s C.J. Stroud in average time to throw (2.94 seconds).
Winston is tied with New England’s Drake Maye for 19th in this category (2.8 seconds).
This season has been polar opposites for both, as Watson was known for holding onto the ball longer, while Winston has gotten rid of the ball sooner.
Conclusion
Fourteen weeks into the season, Jeudy has played six full games per quarterback. Through the data complied, Jeudy has definitely had a more productive season with Winston, compared to Watson.
With Winston, there was a tendency to holding the ball longer, and a lack of throwing the ball far downfield per target, outside of Week 6 at least.
With Winston, there’s a visible aggressiveness he brings to the offense that intertwines with Jeudy’s play, and he’s helped inflate his statistics because of his style of play.
