Courtland Sutton posted a clean-looking stat line last season that will tempt plenty of fantasy managers. What sits underneath it is far shakier than the counting numbers suggest. Denver’s receiver room also looks very different from a year ago. Fantasy managers should think carefully before paying this price.
Should You Draft Courtland Sutton in Fantasy Football?
Sutton is the elder statesman of the Denver Broncos offense heading into 2026.
As of early September, Sutton has an ADP of 77.2, but PFN analysts are a little lower on him on the consensus, with Jason Katz and Kyle Soppe combining for an average ranking of 90. His points-per-game average projection for this coming year is just in the double digits at 10.2, and he ranks as WR43 on the preseason board.
Sutton, on paper at least, is no longer the WR1 of his own offense, at least for fantasy viability. Jaylen Waddle, his new counterpart, is ranked at WR15, a full 28 spots over Sutton. Those two wide receivers headline one of the deeper wide receiver rooms in the NFL, on a Denver team that posted a top-10 passing percentage last season in Sean Payton’s scheme. The Broncos bring back up-and-coming passer Bo Nix as well as all five starting offensive linemen on a unit that was the top-ranked in PFN’s OL impact metric last year.
Sutton has had a drop rate over 6% every season since 2021, and he hasn’t averaged more than 3 yards after the catch per reception since 2019. The last time Sutton had a comparable target threat at wide receiver in Jerry Jeudy, he did still pace the team in target volume. That’s a reason for optimism with Waddle coming in, but that was three years ago. Sutton is nearing 31 years old, and you have to expect that maybe Waddle will start to take the lion’s share as that process continues to unfold.
As long as Sutton stays healthy, I do think he is the caliber of player who can command a healthy load of 5 to 6 targets week in and week out. But this might be the year when his dominion over the Denver offense, in particular the passing volume, dissipates, and Waddle becomes the top option.
Sutton has a formidable 11.7% touchdown rate over the past three seasons and clocked 17 20-plus-yard receptions in 2025. He’s still got it. As an intermediate threat and a red-zone specialist, I do still very much think he has a role in the Denver Broncos’ offense. It’s going to be him and Waddle as that tag team, that one-two punch at the very top.
But just inside the top 100, I do think he’s worth the cost as a reliable high-end flex play or low- to mid-level WR2 with a steady place in one of the league’s most stable, best-constructed offenses.
It’s just that if you’re hoping for him to keep pace with Jaylen Waddle, I think that might be a pipe dream this year. But Sutton is still very much a stable fantasy asset, a clear WR2 in his offense, and I do think he’s a guy who’s going to remain productive even though he might not be the bona fide WR1.
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Courtland Sutton’s Week 1 Fantasy Outlook
Analysis provided by PFN Analyst Kyle Soppe.
Technically, it can be “both,” but it seems that you’re either pro-Sutton or pro-Waddle this season, and I am firmly in the latter. The driving force behind that opinion is that Sutton projects to be more pigeonholed in terms of routes and responsibilities, while the former Dolphin has more variety in terms of what he brings to the table.
The Chiefs kept Sutton out of the end zone in both meetings last season, and if the splash play isn’t there, you’re going to be left wanting more (in those games: 18 targets for 99 yards). The two Denver/Kansas City games last year saw an average of 37 points scored per game, and if this at all resembles that sort of game environment, I don’t feel great about any pass catcher in this game.
As it is, I’ve got Sutton pegged as the more variant of the top options for the Broncos, and that has him resting outside of my top 30 at the position this week, a status he’s going to have to prove better than before I consider a tweak.
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Where Sutton Ranks Among 2026 Wide Receivers
- Stefon Diggs | WAS
- Jakobi Meyers | JAX
- Wan’Dale Robinson | TEN
- Michael Wilson | ARI
- Alec Pierce | IND
- Courtland Sutton | DEN
- Chris Godwin Jr. | TB
- Khalil Shakir | BUF
- Makai Lemon | PHI
- De’Zhaun Stribling | SF
- Jordan Addison | MIN
Want to dive in more? PFN’s Complete PPR Wide Receiver Rankings are updated weekly.
