Courtland Sutton is a star.
If there were any doubts about that fact, one only has to review his highlight reel from the 2019 season. That diving catch in the end zone from Drew Lock? It was straight-up sensational.
Courtland Sutton… no way. Insane one-handed, full extension, diving grab.
First career TD for Drew Lock.
(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/SVslSYknCq
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 1, 2019
Of course, this was only his best play of the season — it didn’t hurt that it came on 3rd and long — and Sutton made so many great catches over the course of the year. His consistency in being able to go up and grab the ball at its apex, to physically dominate cornerbacks, is why he was able to reach the milestone of 1,000 receiving yards for the first time in his career.
And, considering Sutton was able to eclipse 1,000 yards last season with three different quarterbacks throwing him the ball; the kid is just otherworldly.
It earned him a spot, No. 69 to be exact, on the Pro Football Focus Top 101 players of 2019 list:
“Few positions have to rely on others to make them look good — or at least give them the opportunity to make themselves look good — like wide receiver,” PFF writes. “Courtland Sutton was dealing with sub-standard quarterback play all season long, and that’s something that only slightly improved with the move to rookie Drew Lock. Sutton caught 72 passes, broke 16 tackles after the catch and did significant work to bail his quarterback out of some ugly passes over the year. Few players did more with less.”
“Few players did more with less,” really seems to sum it up well for Sutton. In the first half of the year, he had Emmanuel Sanders to take the pressure off at times, but even back then, it was clear Sutton was the No. 1 receiver on the team. After Sanders departed, guys like DaeSean Hamilton and Tim Patrick were elevated on the depth chart to earn more playing time; but Sutton stuck out even more as the Broncos go-to guy.
Luckily for the second-year stud receiver, rookie tight end Noah Fant finally started taking off down the second half of the season, giving the Broncos two legitimate receiving threats for Lock. Sutton finished the year with an overall grade of 83.1, making him the 15th-best receiver in the NFL last year. He enjoyed a stellar 15.4 yards per reception and put up 361 yards after the catch as well. When targeted, the three Broncos’ quarterbacks enjoyed a 104.7 passer rating, as well.
PFF released the bottom 51 players on the list today, and no word on when they will release the Top 50. But, it’s possible a few more Broncos make the list.