Courtland Sutton is a wide receiver for the Denver Broncos, and was drafted in the second round with the 40th overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft. Born in Brenham, Texas, Sutton played at Brenham High School and was a first-team All-District tight end and second-team safety in his senior year. He was a three-star prospect from the 2014 recruiting class, and enrolled at Southern Methodist University, where he initially played both football and basketball. As a sophomore, Sutton would catch 49 passes for 862 yards and nine touchdowns, and went on to eclipse 1,000-yards and double digit touchdowns in his junior and senior years, with his college stats 195-3220-31 line. Sutton was named first-team All-AAC in 2016 and 2017 at SMU and declared early for the NFL Draft despite one remaining year of eligibility.
Sutton had a solid start to his career, and went for 1,112 yards in his second season. Sutton’s 2020 was a lost season due to a torn ACL, but he came back in 2021 to post a receiving line of 58-776-2. Denver liked what they saw from Sutton in his return and granted him a four-year contract extension in November worth $60.8 million and $34.9 million in guaranteed money. Regardless of how the public may view him, Denver liked him enough to give him the 13th highest paid contract at the time this profile was written according to Spotrac.com.
Sutton’s 2021 opportunity metrics are that of a receiver who should have been one of the best in the league. Last season, he ranked eighth in total air yards (1,534), second in average target distance (15.7) and sixth in deep balls (29). He ranked fifth in unrealized air yards with 892. He was the No. 1 receiver in target quality rating (7.84), which combines catchable targets with average target depth to put a premium on deep, catchable targets. The fact that Sutton finished with the 38th most receiving yards among wide receivers, and had a fantasy ranking of WR56 in fantasy points per game (8.8) feels like a gross misrepresentation of how his season should have gone. Sutton totaled six drops on the season and ranked 22nd in the league in total routes run with 495. He was also tops in the leagues in snaps, ranking 15th amongst receivers in total snap share (85.5%).
Courtland Sutton didn’t wow many people last season, and was likely limited by Denver’s underwhelming quarterback play. Unfortunately, the offense continued to remain stagnant in 2023 with Russell Wilson. Sutton did score 10 touchdowns, but his metrics remained average at best while his surrounding cast struggled. Denver will look completely different in 2024 with Bo Nix at quarterback. Marvin Mims and Troy Franklin will compete for targets behind Sutton in the upcoming season.
