Courtland Jaleel Sutton (born October 10, 1995) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

SMU Mustangs The SMU Mustangs are the sport, athletic teams that represent Southern Methodist University in University Park, Texas, United States. SMU was founded in 1911 and joined the Southwest Conference, competing against Baylor Bears, Baylor, Rice Owls, ...

, and was selected by the Broncos in the second round of the

2018 NFL draft The 2018 NFL draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington southwest of Dallas; it was ...

Early life

Sutton attended

Brenham High School Brenham High School is a public high school located in the city of Brenham, Texas, United States. It is classified as a 5A school by the UIL. It is a part of the Brenham Independent School District located in central Washington County. In 20 ...

Brenham, Texas Brenham ( ) is a city in east-central Texas, United States, and the county seat of Washington County, with a population of 17,369 according to the 2020 U.S. census. Brenham is also known for its annual German heritage festival that takes pl ...

, where he played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

. As a senior, he was named first-team All-District as a

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

and second-team as a

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

. Brenham finished the 2013 season with a 14–2 record, losing to Aledo in the UIL 4A Division 2 state championship game. Regarded a three-star prospect by

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

, Sutton committed to

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

over offers from BYU,

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

and

Rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

College career

Sutton played in two games as a true freshman at SMU in 2014, before suffering an injury and taking a

medical redshirt Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

. As a redshirt freshman in 2015, he started all 12 games, recording 49 receptions for 862 yards and nine touchdowns. After the season, he played in three games for SMU's basketball team. As a sophomore in 2016, Sutton started all 12 games and had 76 receptions for 1,246 yards and 10 touchdowns. Sutton considered entering the

2017 NFL draft The 2017 NFL draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia f ...

, but instead, he decided to return to college for his redshirt junior year. On December 22, 2017, Sutton officially declared that he would enter the

after completing his junior year.

Collegiate statistics

Professional career

2018

The

selected Sutton in the second round (40th overall) of the

. He was the third wide receiver selected that year. Sutton made his NFL debut with two receptions for 45 yards in the Broncos' season-opening 27–24 victory over the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

. In Week 5, against the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

, he scored his first professional touchdown. He finished his rookie season with 42 receptions for 704 yards and four touchdowns.

2019

In Week 1 against the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

on ''Monday Night Football'', Sutton caught seven passes for 120 yards in the 24–16 loss. In Week 4 against the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

, Sutton caught six passes for 62 yards and two touchdowns in the 26–24 loss. In Week 5 against the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

, Sutton caught four passes for 92 yards, including a 70-yard receiving touchdown, as the Broncos won their first game of the season by a score of 20–13. In Week 11 against the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

, Sutton caught five passes for 113 yards in the 27–23 loss In Week 13 against the Chargers, Sutton caught four passes for 74 yards, and rookie quarterback

Drew Lock Paul Andrew Lock (born November 10, 1996) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Missouri Tigers football, Missou ...

's first two touchdown passes in the NFL, during the 23–20 victory. Overall, in the 2019 season, Sutton recorded 72 receptions for 1,112 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns. On January 15, Sutton was moved into the Pro Bowl roster as an alternate, replacing the injured

DeAndre Hopkins DeAndre Rashaun Hopkins (born June 6, 1992), nicknamed "DHop" and "Nuk", is an American professional American football, football wide receiver for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Cle ...

, who opted to not play in the game due to a rib injury suffered in a Divisional Round playoff game versus the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

. It was Sutton's first Pro Bowl selection, and with the selection, Sutton became the fastest Broncos wide receiver to earn a Pro Bowl nod, accomplishing it in just his second season in the NFL, breaking Demaryius Thomas's record.

2020

After missing Week 1 with a shoulder injury, Sutton made his 2020 debut the following week against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

. During the game, Sutton caught three passes for 66 yards before exiting the game with a knee injury. The next day, an MRI confirmed that Sutton suffered a torn ACL and he was placed on season-ending injured reserve on September 22, 2020.

2021

In Week 2, against the Jaguars, he had nine receptions for 159 receiving yards in the 23–13 victory. In Week 5, against the Steelers, he had seven receptions for 12 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown in the 27–19 loss. On November 22, 2021, Sutton signed a four-year $60.8 million contract extension with the Broncos through the 2025 season. Sutton finished the season with 58 receptions for 776 yards and two touchdowns.

2022

In Week 2, against the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

, Sutton had seven receptions for 122 receiving yards in the 16–9 victory. In the 2022 season, he played in 15 games, making 64 receptions for 829 receiving yards with two receiving touchdowns.

2023

In the 2023 season, Sutton appeared in and started 14 games. He finished with 59 receptions for 772 yards and ten touchdowns. He had five consecutive games with a touchdown from Week 6 to Week 11.

2024

In Week 9, against the Baltimore Ravens, Sutton had seven receptions for 122 yards. In Week 12, against the Las Vegas Raiders, he had two receiving touchdowns in the 29–19 win. He finished the 2024 season with 81 receptions for 1,081 yards and eight touchdowns.

NFL career statistics

References

External links

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SMU Mustangs bioDenver Broncos bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sutton, Courtland 1995 births Living people American Conference Pro Bowl players American football wide receivers American men's basketball players Denver Broncos players Sportspeople from Brenham, Texas Players of American football from Washington County, Texas SMU Mustangs football players SMU Mustangs men's basketball players 21st-century American sportsmen