Somewhat lost in the rubble of the Denver Broncos’ near-winless start to the 2023 season has been the encouraging play of veteran wideout Courtland Sutton in the team’s new offense.
Should fantasy football managers try and leverage Sutton’s strong start via a trade heading into Week 5, or should they hold steady and see if he can flourish even more in conjunction with what looks to be a rejuvenated Russell Wilson?
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What Should Fantasy Managers Do With Courtland Sutton?
There were high hopes for a Wilson resurgence — and with it, a bounce-back year for the Broncos offense as a whole — under Sean Payton’s guidance. Despite Denver’s mostly dismal 1-3 start, there have been some reasons for optimism.
Wilson’s completion percentage is up just over seven percentage points to 67.4 after last season’s dismal, career-low 60.5% figure. He already has nine touchdowns through four games after tossing only 16 across 15 games in 2022.
One of the primary beneficiaries has been Sutton, who’s generated a 20-216-3 line on 28 targets through his first four games. The sixth-year pro has worked in a shorter-area role than in seasons past (10.8 yards per reception), but he’s already logged half of the 14 red-zone touches he saw in 15 games last season. Additionally, his aforementioned trio of scores are a career high.
MORE: Week 5 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet
Wilson appears to be taking well to Payton’s concepts, and given the veteran signal-caller’s talent, he only figures to get more well-versed in the team’s new scheme as the season unfolds. That naturally would bode well for Sutton, who now has 19 games of experience with Wilson under his belt and appears to be an ascending red-zone weapon in this offense.
Durability has also largely been a strong point for Sutton. Except for a torn ACL suffered in Week 1 of the 2020 season, the 2018 second-round pick has been a highly durable player throughout his career, playing full seasons in 2018, 2019, and 2021 while missing a modest two games in 2022.
Additionally, with the Broncos’ defense in the shape it’s currently in, it appears likely Denver will continue to be involved in plenty of games where it trails in the second half and therefore is forced to remain aggressive through the air.
Future opponents such as the Chiefs (twice), Bills, Vikings, Chargers (twice), and the Lions also all hold the potential to compel proactive high pass rates from the Broncos right from the onset of games in the hopes of keeping pace with those teams’ high-powered offenses.
Considering teams implementing a new playbook tend to get more proficient as a season unfolds — and the fact that the buzz surrounding Denver still remains negative for a number of reasons — it’s likely best for Sutton managers to hold steady with the proven receiver for the time being, given his perceived value in the general fantasy community is still suffering somewhat because of the uniform he wears.
Where Does Sutton Land in Our Fantasy Rankings?
Sutton currently checks in as WR24 in PFN’s Consensus Rankings and WR23 in full-PPR formats specifically. Notable names below him in both categories include Garrett Wilson, DJ Moore, Marquise Brown, teammate Jerry Jeudy, and DeAndre Hopkins.
The names he’s currently outperforming are revealing and hint at what Sutton’s upside could be in a full season in Payton’s offense.