AFC Notes: Broncos, Chargers, Colts

Broncos

Broncos first-round WR Jerry Jeudy saw a career-high 15 targets on Sunday, which was a positive for someone who hasn’t always seen a consistent workload in 2020. However, Jeudy had nearly as many drops (five) as catches (six), including some crucial bobbles in the end zone and late in the game as Denver was trying to take the lead. 

“Sometimes, drops happen,” Jeudy said via Sean Keeler of the Denver Post. “I’m watching the ball come in. I just dropped it. And I’ve just got to focus on the next play. It just happened too many times. That’s unacceptable.”

While drops have cropped up as an issue for Jeudy as a rookie, Broncos HC Vic Fangio expressed confidence in Jeudy’s hands as a long-term asset. 

“Jerry has proven he has good hands. Obviously, that wasn’t evident yesterday so it’s not a question whether he can catch or not,” Fangio said via KUSA’s Mike Klis. “He’s just got to get back to the basics of focusing a little bit more, make sure he has it and not let anything distract him through the process of catching the ball. … He’s proven he has good hands, which is different than some guys that have inconsistent hands and are always going to be a 50-50 catcher throughout their career.”

Chargers

The Chargers traded back into the first-round to snare LB Kenneth Murray because they viewed him as an impact player for their defense. So far as a rookie, Murray hasn’t quite met those expectations. But he’s shown enough potential that the future is still bright for him to fill that role in 2021. 

“Every week there’s a little bit of growth that I go through,” Murray said via Gilbert Manzano of the Southern California News Group. “I see something faster, maybe quicker, and I think the beauty of it [is], I’ve always been the type of guy that if we play a team once, when we come back and play them a second time, you’re able to see things and see how they do things to be able to capitalize on those things. I think that’s been another thing to my benefit being able to play our division teams twice a year.”

Colts

• ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler says there’s a sense among NFL executives that the Colts might take a swing at a long-term solution at quarterback this offseason rather than re-sign QB Philip Rivers. 
• Some options that come up include Eagles QB Carson Wentz and Lions QB Matthew Stafford, assuming either or both are available. Fowler writes people in the Lions organization are openly wondering if Stafford would be on board for another rebuild and Wentz’s struggles are well-documented.