Broncos' Courtland Sutton Led All NFL WRs in Mind-Boggling Stat

Courtland Sutton was a beast in 2019 but many fans had no idea he was this good.

As a rookie in 2018, Courtland Sutton went from being the Denver Broncos' No. 3 wide receiver to the top guy by season's end. Demaryius Thomas was traded mid-season and Emmanuel Sanders suffered a season-ending injury just as the Broncos were entering their stretch run. 

When 2019 rolled around, one could argue whether it was Sutton or Sanders who served as the Broncos' WR1 but it was the former who emerged as the last man standing in the debate as the latter was shipped off to San Francisco mid-season. 

What ensued was a dominant second year for Sutton. Despite catching passes from three different starting quarterbacks, Sutton produced 72 receptions (124 targets) for 1,112 yards and six touchdowns, averaging 15.4 yards per catch. 

The performance earned Sutton a Pro Bowl nod as he joined teammate Von Miller in the NFL all-star game. The stats Sutton produced in 2019, on the surface, are impressive. 

Fans are well aware of Sutton's jump-ball ability and his penchant for making the circus catch whilst wresting the ball away from would-be interceptors. However, additional scrutiny into his statistical body of work reveals one metric that is frankly mind-boggling. 

According to Pro Football Reference, Sutton led all NFL WRs in broken tackles on receptions. With 12 such plays, Sutton stood alone among WRs. There were multiple NFL running backs who had double-digit broken tackles on receptions, but the next highest WR to check in was DeAndre Hopkins with nine. 

Pro-Football-Reference.com

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The BTR stats is very telling and outlines why NFL defensive coordinators have begun to sell out so stridently to stop Sutton. By mid-season, Sutton was regularly double-teamed and bracketed in coverage and not just because of his vertical 'my ball' ability. 

Coordinators and defensive backs know that an eight-yard completed slant to Sutton — thanks to his physical ability to shuck defenders with the ball in his hands — could be broken into 20-plus yard plays. That sort of attention Sutton demands opens up opportunities for other gifted receivers to make an impact. 

You can see why GM John Elway made it such a priority to build the nest around second-year QB Drew Lock this past offseason, drafting WRs Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler, as well as sub-4.5-fast tight end Albert Okwuegbunam. The Broncos need other receivers who can be a force to be reckoned with in their own right and make opposing DCs pay when they sell out to stop Sutton. 

Do you trust Jeudy — the Broncos' projected starting Z-receiver opposite of Sutton — to win more of his one-on-one matchups than he loses? The team absolutely does, and based on his college tape at Alabama, I'm inclined to agree with them. 

Then you inject the speed/athleticism threat inside the numbers of guys like TE Noah Fant, Hamler and Okwuegbunam and it becomes a real pick-your-poison nightmare for opposing DCs. With all this new talent hitting the offense, fans fairly wonder whether Sutton's numbers will dip. 

After all, there are suddenly a lot of mouths to feed on the Broncos' offense. But as you can see, once Lock settles into his groove and has a command of OC Pat Shurmur's offense, it's only going to create more opportunities for Sutton who will inevitably end up with a lot more single coverage than he did last year. 

I predict an even bigger statistical season from Sutton in 2020. For all these reasons, plus the fact that at age 24, he's only going to get better as he matures. 

It's going to be a fun year to watch the Broncos. 

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.