Fantasy managers have been pleasantly surprised with the production from Denver Broncos WR Courtland Sutton through the first seven games of the 2023 NFL season. He currently leads the team in targets (43), receptions (31), receiving yards (351), and TDs (5), which potentially makes him a valuable trade target on the open market.
Let’s take a closer look at some potential landing spots for Sutton that could allow him to have a fantasy football impact toward the back half of the season.
Potential Landing Spots for Courtland Sutton
Carolina Panthers
This might not help the fantasy value of Adam Thielen, but Carolina certainly could use some help in the WR room alongside the 33-year-old veteran to give rookie quarterback Bryce Young another quality pass-catching option in this offense.
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The Panthers’ leading pass catchers — Thielen, DJ Chark, Jonathan Mingo, and Hayden Hurst — average less than three yards of separation, which is among the lowest in the league.
Sutton isn’t the best separator, but he can provide a reliable option in contested-catch situations and can generate enough separation working alongside another quality receiver like Thielen, where he could have similar success and volume in the passing game. Sutton averages generating 2.9 yards of separation, which is something this offense could certainly use.
New England Patriots
We are almost in November, and the Patriots’ passing game still lacks a top option. Kendrick Bourne has been the best of the bunch, but the team could certainly use a reliable outside option who can at least moderately create some separation.
DeVante Parker creates the least amount of separation on average throughout the league at 1.9 yards. In case you think that Parker may just be having a bad season, he finished dead last in the same category in 2022 as well. Sure, the Patriots’ passing game isn’t the most exciting in the league, but this team certainly needs a real top option to feature. Sutton could fit the bill.
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions offense may have had a bad week against the Baltimore Ravens, but this unit has been very productive throughout the 2023 season. If Sutton is to get dealt near the trade deadline, the Lions could be one of the most exciting landing spots for Sutton’s rest-of-season fantasy outlook.
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Lions quarterback Jared Goff ranks fourth amongst quarterbacks in air yards this season and has continued playing at a high level to help the Lions have a 5-2 record through the first seven games of the season. While the team certainly hopes to expand the role of Jameson Williams down the back half of the season, he hasn’t synced up with Goff since his return from suspension.
Amon-Ra St. Brown and Sam LaPorta likely won’t be affected too much if the team were to acquire Sutton, but the arrival of Sutton could give this offense a bigger-bodied outside option to compliment Detroit’s top pass catchers.
We don’t know if the Lions are willing to add another WR at this moment — which would potentially limit the development of Williams — but Sutton could help this offense become even more explosive if a deal can get done.
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