ROOKIE QUICK TO CATCH BRONCOS’ ATTENTION
It’s Sutton, not Keenum, who changes everything for Denver
Forget everything you knew about those sorry, lastplace Broncos. That 511 Denver team from last season? It’s history. Everything has changed. Why? Two words: Courtland Sutton.
“Who’s that? Huh?” Denver linebacker Von Miller said Saturday, pretending to forget the name of the rookie receiver whose No. 14 jersey should hang in the closet of every Bronomaniac ASAP. “No. 14? That guy cold, man. Courtland’s cold.”
And I’m as stonecold serious as Steve Austin when I say: Sutton will prove to be the best draft choice Denver has made since Elway selected Miller with the second overall pick in 2011. Yes, the routes Sutton runs are as coarse as unrefined sugar. But he also delivers biggerandbadder athleticism that most NFL cornerbacks won’t be able to handle.
“I was in camp in Houston with (Deandre) Hopkins as a rookie. Very comparable,”
Broncos coach Vance Joseph said.
This is not hyperbole, liar’s poker or fooling around. I will see Joseph’s praise, and raise it: For both the immediate and long-term fortunes of the Broncos, the most impactful player the team added in 2018 is not quarterback Case Keenum. It’s Sutton.
Through seven days of camp, Sutton has already made enough jaw-dropping catches to fill Sportscenter’s Top 10 Plays of the Week. The latest? In a situational drill designed to put Keenum and the Denver offense under the duress of working in the shadow of its own end zone, Keenum reared back and heaved a pass up the right sideline.
Near the 50-yard line, despite pass interference from firststring cornerback Bradley Roby, Sutton climbed a ladder borrowed from Lebron James to suspend gravity beneath his feet, grabbed the football and raced to the end zone for a touchdown more spectacular than anything we saw from the Broncos in 16 games last season.
“Every time the ball’s in the air, my job is the same: I come down with that ball in my hands, no matter what,” Sutton said.
The Broncos have found their No. 3 passing target. His name is Emmanuel Sanders. Oh, the 30-year-old veteran should haul in more than the 47 catches Sanders had to settle for a year ago. But, if the confidence Keenum has demonstrated in Sutton is any indication, the rookie from SMU will be even more productive than Sanders.
Sutton changes everything, starting with the Denver playbook. Unless the line is so woeful at blocking that nothing else matters, the Broncos’ primary offensive look needs to feature a skill group that includes Demaryius Thomas, Sanders and Sutton on the field, alongside tight end Jake Butt, with a lone running back behind Keenum.
While a carousel of clueless Broncos quarterbacks got all the blame for the NFL’S 27th-ranked scoring offense in 2017, what’s too often ignored is there were too few weapons in the arsenal. No more. Sutton should allow offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave to shuffle the alignment of his three receivers in search of mismatches.
Game knows game. Pro Bowl cornerback Chris Harris Jr., who stands behind only Miller in the talent ranking of Denver’s roster, insists Sutton has the skills of a top-10 draft choice. But before I could offer Sutton directions to Canton, Ohio, Harris wisely offered this caveat: “He’s a baller, man. But we’ve got to wait to see if he can do it in the games.”
Fair enough. It’s easy for a sportswriter to predict Sutton will surpass the 58 catches and seven touchdowns Juju Smithschuster gave the Steelers, as a rookie in 2017. To his credit, Sutton goes about his business as if the soundtrack to his football life is “Humble” by Kendrick Lamar. In truth, it’s not the big catches but all the little details that can convince even a skeptic Sutton is the real deal.
Let’s start with one play from Friday that could’ve been missed in the blink of an eye. At the snap, before Sutton could get off the line of scrimmage, the rookie was greeted with a wicked pop in his face mask from Roby. A flag flew. A coach scolded Roby. The significance? Sutton is so good, he can make a vet lose his cool. And the Broncos staff won’t stand for anyone trying to bully their rising star.
All the small things, Part 2: As Sutton drifted into the secondary Saturday morning and Keenum threw the ball elsewhere, Harris took the opportunity to coach up the rookie. The message? There was a dead giveaway in Sutton’s body language that signaled precisely to Harris where the route was going. Don’t be so easy to cover.
“You can’t just run a go-ball all season and make a living in the NFL,” Harris said. Duly noted, said Sutton: “I’ve got to go look at the film, and eliminate the mistake (Harris) told me about.”
All the small things, Part 3: As a weary Sutton, his mouth dry as cotton, walked in the noon sun to the cool of the locker room, he carried his football gear in one hand. True to rookie tradition, he lugged the shoulder pads of an elder in his other hand. Which teammate, you ask? Keenum already trusts this rookie to deliver the goods. “I got to build that quarterback’s trust, every way I can,” Sutton said.
Let’s kick it old school. Sutton should make everyone, from Elway to Keenum to Denver fans bored with the musty, old playbook sitting on the shelf in Joseph’s office, feel as good as James Brown.
The Broncos got a brand new bag.
Courtland Sutton changes everything.