ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Broncos had their Pro Bowl receiver on the field for 31 total plays in 2020. Courtland Sutton’s third year in the league ended just over an hour after it started on Sunday.
After missing Week 1 due to an AC joint sprain, Denver’s No. 1 receiver made his NFL debut against the Steelers in Week 2. Sutton didn’t even make it to halftime before his season ended after tearing his ACL and MCL attempting to make a tackle on an interception.
Not only is Sutton the only Pro Bowl receiver on the Broncos’ roster, but he’s also the only receiver that’s started more than eight games in the NFL and the only one that has more than 315 receiving yards in a single season. And now, the Broncos will be without their most experienced receiver for the rest of the season.
Instead of filling his void with another veteran, the Broncos will turn to the remaining six receivers on the roster.
Fortunately for the Broncos, despite the incredible youth and inexperience, there is plenty of talent.
“When we drafted all of those guys [this year], we thought we had one of the most talented receiving corps from top to bottom in the league,” Tim Patrick stated on Tuesday. “We talked about it all camp that we had one of the best receiving corps so we’re prepared for this. It sucks he had to go down, but as Josey [Jewell] said, it’s next man up.”
Of the remaining six receivers on the Broncos’ roster, half of them are rookies. John Elway spent his first two picks of the draft on the position with Jerry Jeudy and K.J. Hamler before circling back around to the position in the seventh round by selecting Tyrie Cleveland.
With Sutton out, the rookies will have an even bigger role in Denver’s offense, especially the top two picks.
“We have some really good rookies,” Patrick stated. “You guys see what Jerry Jeudy’s been doing since camp started. That man is amazing at running routes. K.J. stuck out in his game film playing physical. Being our smallest receiver, he was probably one of our most physical receivers [against the Steelers]. And making plays on a vet like Joe Haden. You can’t ask much more from those guys. Those guys have been stepping up and they are going to continue to step up.”
By the end of their rookie seasons, it’s not hard to imagine Jeudy and Hamler having better statistical seasons than Patrick, Hamilton and Spencer have ever had. All they would need to do would be to top the 315 receiving yards Patrick had in 2018.
Patrick will likely remain the starter for the time being, as he and Jeudy had been through the first two weeks of the season. Jeudy, however, is already the Broncos’ leading receiver — eight catches for 118 yards — among the wide receivers and that’s expected to continue without Sutton.
Although he missed the first game due to a hamstring injury, Hamler’s 57 yards from scrimmage is already the second-most on the active roster from the receiver group, only trailing Jeudy. There’s no question the rookies are going to be heavily featured in Denver’s young offense.
“With Courtland going down, it truly is that next-man-up mentality,” Patrick said. “Jerry Jeudy is going to get more targets. DaeSean will get more targets. K.J. going to get more targets. Tyrie going to probably get more involved. And then, of course, I’m probably going to get more targets.”
Although he’s not technically a receiver, the Broncos also have Noah Fant to add to their passing attack.
“Noah is gifted. He’s very gifted,” Patrick said, after pausing for many seconds to think of a word to describe the tight end. “For being that big with that speed and that strength is kind of insane. It showed in the second half. He gave us an opportunity to win the game with the multiple big catches he had in the second half. I think he’s grown week in and week out and he’s going to continue to get better and better.”
Without Courtland Sutton, the Broncos are about as inexperienced as a receiving corps can be. But Jerry Jeudy and K.J. Hamler have already taken a big role in the offense. Now they’re in a prime position to take off.
