Courtland Sutton (born October 10, 1995) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

wide receiver for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at SMU, 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, Texas; it was the first draft ...

Early years

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 in Washington County, United States, with a population of 17,369 according to the 2020 U.S. census. It is the county seat of Washington County. Washington County is known as the "Birthplace of Texas, ...

, where he played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

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

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

and second-team as a

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

. 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 (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

, Sutton committed to

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...

over offers from

BYU Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

and

Rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

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

The

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

. He was the third wide receiver selected that year.

2018

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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

. 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 club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

, 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 that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

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 club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

, 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 Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

, 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. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

, Sutton caught five passes for 113 yards in the 27–23 loss In Week 13 against the

, Sutton caught four passes for 74 yards, and rookie quarterback

Drew Lock Andrew Stephen Lock (born November 10, 1996) is an American football quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Missouri and was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the second round ...

'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) is an American football wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Clemson and was drafted by the Houston Texans in the first round o ...

, 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 club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

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

Demaryius Thomas Demaryius Antwon Thomas (December 25, 1987 – December 9, 2021) was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons, primarily with the Denver Broncos. He played college ...

'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 club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

. During the game, Sutton caught 3 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

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.

NFL career statistics

References

External links

*
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 People from Brenham, Texas Players of American football from Texas SMU Mustangs football players SMU Mustangs men's basketball players Ed Block Courage Award recipients