Courtland Sutton’s tenure in Denver has been an interesting one, and the book still has chapters to be added, given the trajectory of this offense. His two highest catch totals have come in the past two years, and his catch radius has allowed him to carry strong scoring equity into the second half of his career.
His current fantasy football ADP would make a repeat of 2025 a valuable outcome. Should you be jumping on him at cost as he prepares for Year 9?
Should You Draft Courtland Sutton in 2026 Fantasy Football?
Sutton is a solid player, and the Denver Broncos’ offense is generally one that I have an optimistic outlook for, but how big is the realistic win if you spend an early-to-mid-round pick on him and he comes through for you?
In a season where Bo Nix excelled in scoring situations (11th in red zone passer rating compared to 24th otherwise) and only one of his teammates cleared 50 catches for 500 receiving yards, Sutton was … fine. He recorded four top-12 weeks and nine top-24 weeks. After a strong start to the season, he was fantasy’s WR24 from Week 4 forward, closer to falling outside of the top-35 than cracking the top-15 in terms of PPG.
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There’s nothing wrong with that, and if you got that this season, you’d be dancing, but that’s unlikely to happen. What if Nix regresses in the red area? What if Jaylen Waddle is as good as I project him to be, and this is a Batman and Robin situation more than a 1a and 1b sort of thing?
What if a deep running back room, with the addition of Jonah Coleman, excels? What if one, never mind two, of the imposing sub-25-year-old WRs develop in a significant way? What if the defense is so good that we see it limit the passing volume? They ranked fourth in pass attempts last season, but teams like the Philadelphia Eagles and Seattle Seahawks are cautionary tales of how pass volume can be meaningfully limited when the other side of the ball excels.
The odds of all of those questions taking a turn for the worse are low, but I’m not in the business of taking on a player whom I want to start on at least a semi-regular basis that has that many paths to sustained failure.
Don’t get me wrong, there are roster builds where Sutton makes sense. He has missed just three games over the past five seasons and has hauled in 25 touchdowns since 2023. That said, paying up two to three rounds for Waddle’s services after Denver gave up three immediate picks to acquire him is something I’d prefer to do. I’d also rather wait another two to three rounds and scoop a Jayden Reed or Josh Downs type who has seen targets leave town, not enter.
Preseason Fantasy WR Rankings
- Ja’Marr Chase | CIN
- Puka Nacua | LAR
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba | SEA
- Amon-Ra St. Brown | DET
- Drake London | ATL
- Justin Jefferson | MIN
- CeeDee Lamb | DAL
- Nico Collins | HOU
- A.J. Brown | NE
- Malik Nabers | NYG
- George Pickens | DAL
- Chris Olave | NO
- Rashee Rice | KC
- Zay Flowers | BAL
- Jaylen Waddle | DEN
- Tee Higgins | CIN
- DeVonta Smith | PHI
- Ladd McConkey | LAC
- Terry McLaurin | WAS
- Emeka Egbuka | TB
- Tetairoa McMillan | CAR
- Garrett Wilson | NYJ
- Jameson Williams | DET
- Christian Watson | GB
- Luther Burden III | CHI
- Rome Odunze | CHI
- Parker Washington | JAX
- Carnell Tate | TEN
- DJ Moore | BUF
- Marvin Harrison Jr. | ARI
- Davante Adams | LAR
- Brian Thomas Jr. | JAX
- Quentin Johnston | LAC
- Mike Evans | SF
- Stefon Diggs | WAS
- Michael Wilson | ARI
- DK Metcalf | PIT
- Jakobi Meyers | JAX
- Josh Downs | IND
- Michael Pittman Jr. | PIT
- Jayden Reed | GB
- Courtland Sutton | DEN
- Wan’Dale Robinson | TEN
- Chris Godwin Jr. | TB
- Alec Pierce | IND
- Makai Lemon | PHI
- Jordan Addison | MIN
- De’Zhaun Stribling | SF
- Khalil Shakir | BUF
- Romeo Doubs | NE
