The trade market for Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy – the top veteran receiver believed to be available at this point in the offseason – has fluctuated wildly since the offseason began. Reports have had the Broncos asking price from topping out at a third-round pick, to wanting a first-round pick and more.

However, the latest report on Jeudy suggests the current offers are closer to what the consensus belief of the 23-year-old’s trade value has been – a second-round and a fourth-round pick. It also seems like the Patriots are in at that price.

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Tuesday night, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com published an article on the Browns’ pursuit of Jeudy. Initially the Browns didn’t seem like real contenders to land Jeudy given Denver’s reported ask of a first-round pick and Cleveland not having a first-round pick again until 2025, having traded their next two firsts to the Houston Texans in last year’s Deshaun Watson deal.

According to Cabot, a first-round pick may not be needed to get the deal done through. She writes the Broncos have thought about other offers, including one believed to be from New England.

“Benjamin Allbright of Denver’s KOA-FM reports that the Broncos would listen to an offer for a second-round pick and a player, which the Browns could possibly pull off,” she notes. “The Broncos supposedly at least pondered an offer for a second- and fourth-rounder, possibly from the Patriots.”

Obviously Jeudy isn’t a Patriot right now, so for the time being that deal isn’t enough to get it done. But might the Broncos be wavering on their ask of a first-round pick?

Per Cabot, “the Broncos don’t plan to trade Jeudy, their 2020 No. 15 overall pick out of Alabama, unless someone makes them an offer they can’t refuse.” She adds that “the chatter surrounding the Browns and Jeudy seems to be mostly smoke, but another said the door remains open for the Browns to try to acquire him.”

Those reports bring this whole saga back to the original questions. Do the Broncos want to move Jeudy because new head coach Sean Payton wants to reset the roster, and is in need of draft picks? Or are they trying to see if a team will overextend themselves to make a deal in a year with weak wide receiver markets both in free agency and the draft?

If it’s the former, the Patriots seem to be right in the middle of the discussions. If it’s the latter, it’s possible it could be a while before any resolution on the Jeudy situation is reached.

If the Patriots can acquire Jeudy, he’ll give them a true top receiver whose skill level is great enough to dictate opponent coverage. Not only would he give Mac Jones – who he played with at Alabama – a reliable target who regularly gets open, he’ll lessen the coverage on the Patriots’ other pass catchers including newly-signed with receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and tight end Mike Gesicki.

Last season was Jeudy’s best as a pro. Despite playing in a Broncos’ offense that struggled from start to finish in the first year of the Russell Wilson era and ended up ranking last in the league in scoring, Jeudy was on a 1,000-yard pace. He finished with 67 catches for 972 yards and six touchdowns in 15 games.

Alex Barth is a writer and digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Looking for a podcast guest? Let him know on Twitter @RealAlexBarth or via email at [email protected].