Courtland Sutton 2018 Outlook: One Injury Away
6 years agoHumans as big as Courtland Sutton should not be this agile. Sutton isn't overly fast and has average burst, but has elite speed and agility for his size and a 90th percentile catch radius. The 84th percentile SPARQ-x athlete is ready to make an immediate impact. As I've preached all offseason, situation + opportunity > talent. Sutton has the talent and the situation is decent, but the opportunity is nonexistent...for now. Ahead of Sutton is a pair of 30+ year old WRs in Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, both of whom are expected to be gone in 2019. Sutton is setup nicely to enter 2019 as the Broncos' WR1. Unfortunately, that does Sutton no good in 2018. He should open as their WR3 and play on three receiver sets with Sanders moving into the slot, but Case Keenum and the Denver offense certainly cannot support three fantasy relevant WRs. That doesn't mean Sutton should go undrafted in redraft leagues, though. This is a rare case where the beneficiary of an injury to a starter is not only obvious, but it's someone we are confident can produce. Both Thomas and Sanders have been nicked up a few times over the past couple seasons. While neither has missed extended time, with both being advanced in age and closer to the end than the beginning, especially Thomas (who I think is done by 2020), Sutton could track a similar path to Juju Smith-Schuster in 2017. Sutton is worth a late round flier, but don't hesitate to let him go for a hot waiver pickup early in the season if necessary.