The Denver Broncos had a very productive season from their rookies in 2018. One of the rookies who stepped up was Courtland Sutton.
Sutton was the Broncos' second-round pick with the 40th overall selection. The young wideout came from SMU where he had 68 receptions, 1,085 yards, and 12 touchdowns in his senior season.
Denver drafted Sutton with the plan of grooming him behind Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders. He was quickly thrust into an important role once Thomas was traded to the Houston Texans.
Then, Sanders went down with injury and Sutton was quickly the top receiver on the depth chart. In 2018, Sutton completed the season with 42 receptions for 704 yards and four touchdowns.
The play at quarterback from Case Keenum lacked for the majority of the season which in turn limited the production of the receiving corp.
With the return of Sanders on the offense and Joe Flacco being acquired, Sutton will need to provide the offense with better production than 2018. Here are three way-too-early predictions for the Broncos young wide receiver.
Remember, these are bold predictions so some of these may be unlikely to happen at all.
3. 70+ Receptions
When you trade for someone like Joe Flacco to be your quarterback, that means you're willing to throw downfield more often. Sutton is more than capable of being a deep threat target for Flacco.
Playing alongside a receiver like Emmanuel Sanders is going to allow yourself to see more opportunities to get the ball. Unfortunately, that wasn't able to transpire in 2018 when Sanders season ended with an injury.
Nonetheless, 2019 we will see both guys on the field together in their current roles. Sutton only saw himself grab 42 passes last season but that number will definitely increase in 2019.
Sutton will grab 70 or more receptions in a Broncos offense that is likely to air it out more after ranking just 19th in passing offense in 2018.
2. 8+ Touchdowns
With more opportunities comes more scoring for the Broncos offense (hopefully). Denver ranked 24th in scoring last year, averaging 20.6 points per game.
It's hard to believe that that number doesn't slightly increase in 2019. Sutton is one of the players who should see a bump in scoring chances in the upcoming season.
In 2018, Sutton had only four touchdowns but the lack of touchdowns wasn't entirely his fault. The offense struggled to throw the ball and Phillip Lindsay was the focal point of the offense.
Nonetheless, Sutton is going to at least double the number of touchdowns he got in 2018.
1. 17+ Yards Per Reception
Since his college days at SMU, Sutton has been a deep threat receiver. You pair that with a big-arm quarterback like Flacco and magic could happen.
In his three seasons starting at SMU, Sutton averaged 16.7 yards per reception. Likewise, with Denver last season, he averaged 16.8 yards per reception.
His 16.8 yards per catch was good enough for seventh most in the NFL only behind DeSean Jackson, Josh Gordon, Mike Evans, Tyreek Hill, John Brown, and Tyler Lockett.
Not a bad group of receivers to be a part of. Although, Sutton will one-up himself by eclipsing the 17 yards per reception mark in 2019. Only five receivers accomplished that in 2018.
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