#BroncosCamp Observations: After early struggles, Jerry Jeudy finishes Day 10 on high note

[Miles]

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Facing his first true adversity of training camp, Jerry Jeudy responded.


During the first nine days of training camp, Jeudy wowed teammates on both sides of the ball as the 15th-overall pick ran crisp routes and made spectacular catches. Then, early on Day 10, the Alabama product didn't look quite the same.


In the first 11-on-11 work of Tuesday's practice, Drew Lock threw a deep pass to Jeudy in the end zone, but it bounced off the young receiver's hands. A few minutes later, in 7-on-7 action, Lock's attempt to Jeudy was nearly intercepted by Duke Dawson Jr. Later in the session, Jeudy had another Lock pass in his hands but couldn't hold on.


Instead of letting those few plays impact the entire two-hour practice, though, Jeudy came back to make several nice plays. In a later 7-on-7 period, Lock found Jeudy on a deep crossing route, and the rookie caught the pass over his shoulder along the sideline with a defender draped over him. He added a red-zone touchdown as he kept the play alive while Lock scrambled. He was able to throw his feet down just inside the end zone for the score. In 11-on-11 work to end practice, Lock hit Jeudy again for a nice gain.


Jeudy's ability to bounce back may be just as important as his knack for highlight plays. Especially as a rookie, he won't always be perfect. How he responds to adversity, though, could define a game and his season.


In Tuesday's practice, Jeudy certainly proved a couple of poor plays won't come back to haunt him.


OFFENSE IMPROVES LATE


Jeudy wasn't the only player to struggle early. Several offensive players dropped passes, and Lock was a bit inaccurate during some early periods. Bradley Chubb and Alexander Johnson both notched tackles for loss in the opening 11-on-11 period. Johnson tacked on a pass breakup during 7-on-7, and Josey Jewell batted a pass down at the line. During another 11-on-11 period, the offense moved back because of a false start penalty, and Von Miller would've recorded a sack. Miller would've recorded a sack later in practice, too, in a game environment.


The Broncos' offense would gain a bit of momentum late in practice, though, as Lock hit DaeSean Hamilton for a 40-yard touchdown. That play was followed over the rest of practice by a series of highlights that include the crossing route to Jeudy, the touchdown to Jeudy, a touchdown pass to Jake Butt and another over-the-shoulder catch by DaeSean Hamilton.


After practice, Vic Fangio said he was glad to see the offense respond.


"I like to see good, competitive practice, and I think we had that today," Fangio said. "Guys were crisp. They were competing. A lot of good — not over the top — trash talking going on, which I think really brought the level up of practice. I was even tempted there at one point to make one of the drills live, because I think they were ready for it, but I didn't. I thought it was a really, really good practice from an effort standpoint and competitive standpoint."