AFC Notes: Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders

Broncos

New Broncos HC Sean Payton has a long list of players from his time with the Saints who he was able to maximize, some of them to record-setting seasons. It’s led to a lot of optimism about the impact he could have on Broncos WRs Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy, who have been closer to average as a duo despite the flashes of potential. Payton has not shied away at all from making it clear how high his expectations are. 

“I give [Sutton] a hard time — that 2019 album he put out was pretty good,” Payton said via the Athletic’s Nick Kosmider. “We’re looking for another really good soundtrack in 2023…

“I told [Jeudy], ‘Hey, I’m going to be on you, and we’re going to get the most out of you,’” Payton added. “He’s continued to get stronger. Couple times, he’s catching the ball with his pinkies together instead of his thumbs together. We’ll correct some of that, but he’s someone that certainly will be a big part of what we do.”

Both Sutton and Jeudy have said they’ve gone back to watch tape of Saints WR Michael Thomas and his incredibly productive years under Payton when the two were in New Orleans together. Both have said there are things they can mine from Thomas’ game, and Broncos OL coach Zach Strief expanded more on how it all came together for Thomas and what that could mean for Sutton and Jeudy. 

“One was Mike’s comfort in the system,” Strief said. “This is a complex system, so the longer you’re in, the more comfortable you are, the more adjustments we can make at the line of scrimmage, the more we can move you around. Mike, as a young player, was really a stationary player, and then, suddenly, ‘Hey, we can start moving him around a little bit.’ … And Mike is the most aggressive receiver I have ever seen. Mike Thomas attacks balls, attacks defenders, attacks the day. He’s just an aggressive guy. And the combination of a big, aggressive receiver and a quarterback (who) puts the ball wherever he wants leads to a lot of that stuff.”

Chiefs

After Chiefs backup QB Chad Henne retired this offseason, Kansas City went out and signed QB Blaine Gabbert to compete for the No. 2 job behind starting QB Patrick Mahomes. Chiefs HC Andy Reid said Gabbert made a good first impression during OTAs. 

“He’s smart. He’s bigger than I thought he was. (He’s) a big kid,” Reid said via USA Today’s Charles Goldman. “Throws the ball – (has) a strong arm. Has developed a good relationship with Pat. Look forward to seeing when things are going fast (but) right now, he’s making sure he knows where everybody’s at and has it down. But you can tell he’s done it before.”

There was a school of thought that the Chiefs would go cheap at backup quarterback and eschew a veteran to allocate money to other positions. However, Reid says they value experience at that position and pointed to Henne’s sparse but key performances in relief of Mahomes. It helps that Gabbert signed a veteran salary benefit deal as well. Still, he’ll have to compete with third-year UDFA QB Shane Buechele who has put out some solid tape the past couple preseasons.

“I would tell you that if you could find a good veteran player (and) something were to happen to Pat, if you have confidence in a guy that’s not a bad way to go just from experience sake at that spot,” Reid said. “We saw that with Chad when he had to play. He did a nice job with it, but I think we have a couple (of) good young guys, too, back there.”

Raiders

Raiders LB Divine Deablo said he used his time recovering from a broken arm to study the game and work on his rehab. 

“I didn’t think my arm was broken,” Deablo said, via Paul Gutierrez of ESPN. “The X-ray came and it turned out to be broken. Of course, I was down, I was sad … I knew I was going to miss the rest of the season, but I saw it as an opportunity. I just studied the game; I worked harder and this offseason I stayed here the whole time just in hopes that it will work out on the field.”