Broncos WR Courtland Sutton Makes Case for Pro Bowl, New Contract

Denver Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton has been one of the best players in the NFL over the last six weeks.
Denver Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton is having a Pro Bowl caliber season with rookie quarterback Bo Nix.
Denver Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton is having a Pro Bowl caliber season with rookie quarterback Bo Nix. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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The Denver Broncos enter their bye week coming off of a rather impressive 41-32 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Monday Night Football. Sitting at 8-5 and holding onto the final Wild Card spot for the AFC Playoffs, the Broncos offense has found a lot of footing over the past few weeks, scoring at least 28 points in four of their last six games.

A huge part of that point production has come at the hands of quarterback Bo Nix and his rapid development as a potential franchise quarterback. 

The biggest benefactor of that development has been the resurgence of wide receiver Courtland Sutton, who has been the Broncos' best offensive playmaker this season.

Over the past six weeks - following the game against New Orleans in which Sutton didn’t receive a single target - Sutton has been one of the best receivers in the entire league and is producing at a top-five level. 

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Check the numbers.

Since that win in the Caesars Superdome in Week 7, Sutton has been targeted 57 times, the third most of any receiver in that time frame according to our friends at Pro Football Focus.

Of those 57 targets, Sutton has 42 receptions for 569 yards, both of which rank second in the league. 28 of those receptions resulted in a first down, tied with Los Angeles Rams receiver Puka Nacua for the most in the league.

Sutton's first-seven games he averaged 39.6 yards-per game. He's averaging 94.8 yards-per game his last six. Despite the slow start, his torrid pace the last six weeks has moved him into the top 10 in total receiving yards in the NFL and No. 6 in the AFC.

While yards after the catch, touchdowns, and some other analytical averages are a bit lower in this data set for Sutton, much of that has to do with how Sean Payton is deploying the Broncos top option in the wide receiver room.

Sutton isn’t used as a quick passing game option, typically seeing the majority of his work coming on crossing routes and dig patterns that are further downfield and longer developing, hence his 13.2-yard average depth of target the past six weeks.

His ability to find soft spots in zone coverages and become a big target for Nix down the field as the play breaks down has taken the offense to new heights. 

Several times over the past few weeks, we’ve seen Nix target Sutton while scrambling to escape pressure, typically finding Sutton near the sideline in the second or third window of the route design as an option laterally across the field.

These types of plays limit yards after the catch and missed tackle opportunities, but have a high tendency to move the chains. Hence why Sutton ranks 21st of all receivers with at least 30 targets since Week 7 in yards after the catch and has no forced missed tackles.

He isn’t asked to do those things and is still being wildly effective for the offense as a whole.

To put things in perspective on how effective Sutton has been on the season, take a look at Total Expected Points Added per Sumer Sports, an advanced analytics website.

When narrowing the list of qualified receivers to those that have run at least 236 routes this season (a list that includes 67 players), Sutton ranks fourth with 76.9 Total EPA, only behind Cincinnati’s Jamarr Chase (94.3), Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson (89.4), and Washington’s Terry McLaurin (85.2). 

The Takeaway:

Coming into the season, widespread speculation about the Broncos possibly trading Sutton to acquire more draft picks burned the internet to the ground. After all, Sutton was not attending the Broncos voluntary-offseason program over wanting more guaranteed money over the final two years of his current contract.

Sutton eventually got a slight restructure, before a bigger restructure came his way, guaranteeing $13-million of his 2024 salary. The restructure lowered his 2024 salary cap number to just $7.9 million, while that number balloons to $21 million in 2025, Sutton's last year under contract.

Even at 30-years old next season, he's played his way into an extension that would lower his overall-cap hit in 2025 while securing his services through at least 2026.

Statistically speaking, Sutton is having one of the best years of his career operating with a rookie quarterback as his favorite option in the passing game. He’s the one-constant offensively on a week-to-week basis, and the rapport he has built with Nix is palpable.

You almost know that if the Broncos need a critical play on 3rd down to keep the drive alive, Sutton is going to be on the receiving end of the pass. 

Continuity is a major factor in the development of a young quarterback, and Nix and Sutton have developed a very special bond over the past six weeks.

Denver needs to find a way to keep Sutton in the fold for the long term.


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Lance Sanderson
LANCE SANDERSON

Lance Sanderson has covered the Denver Broncos since 2018 and covered the 2019 NFL Draft on-location in New York City. His works have appeared also on CBSSports.com, 247Sports.com, and BleacherReport.com.