Broncos Player Profile: Courtland Sutton | WR
While Courtland Sutton produced a solid rookie season, he really emerged for the Denver Broncos in his second year. That rookie season, with all of Sutton's flashes, revealed a few key areas needing improvement.
Sutton dropped nine of his 79 targets while only catching 53% of the balls thrown his way. His route running was problematic and he struggled to break off from cornerbacks, which showed how big of a jump he made from college where separation wasn’t much of an issue.
One thing was clear, though: Sutton could go up and get those tough, contested catches with consistency.
In Year 2, Sutton's ball issues were minimal as he only dropped three of his 115 targets, catching just under 63% of passes. His route running was much improved and his average distance of separation saw a major jump.
There was also an improvement in Sutton's contested catches where he jumped from a 41% success rate to a 54.5%. There was a reason he was hyped up and poised to cement himself as a top-10 NFL receiver entering the 2020 season.
That never really materialized because Sutton tore his ACL in Week 2. He only saw action in that Week 2 game at Pittsburgh where he garnered 31 snaps on offense.
Sutton was targeted six times in that contest, dropping one and catching three before leaving the game with what ended up being that season-ending injury. As the Broncos approach the 2021 season, the hope is that Sutton will make that big leap forward that was expected a year ago and officially establish himself as a bonafide top-10 wideout.
Don't forget to check out the video above for a deep-dive look at Sutton's 2021 prospects!
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