If the Cleveland Browns end up playing better football throughout the 2026-27 NFL season, it’ll likely be because some of their top players return to what they once were. The Browns are a tough team to evaluate in some sense, as they’re better on paper than they typically play, though much of that is due to some of their top players again, just not playing at the level they need to.

It wasn’t an ideal season for Jerry Jeudy for many reasons. 

Jeudy is a good player, but probably isn’t one of those upper-echelon wide receivers. 

He proved that he could be one of them in 2024 in his first season with the Browns, but he only had 602 yards a year ago on 50 receptions. Cleveland will need a lot more from him moving forward, and new head coach Todd Monken seems to believe it’s a possibility that it unfolds that way this year.

“I think we are going to be able to get Jerry Jeudy back to two years ago. That’s not a leap. But that’s a re-leap—is that a word? But I think we’re going to be able to do that,” Monken said, per Heavy.

In Jeudy’s defense, it’s tough to blame a wide receiver too much if the offense has multiple quarterbacks coming in and out of games week in and week out. Jeudy also needs quarterbacks to throw him the football at the level he deserves it for any of this to be a conversation.

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