Courtland Sutton is One of Denver Broncos Best Receivers All-Time

Drafted in the second round way back in 2018, Courtland Sutton has become one of the Denver Broncos best receivers of all-time.

He's stuck with the organization through thick, and a lot of thin.

And recently, Sutton's climbed the franchise record lists. He'll be in the top-5 in many categories by the time his days in Denver are over.

We should be celebrating him more right now.

Climbing the Ranks: Courtland Sutton is One of Denver Broncos Best Receivers

Sutton is one of the best Broncos receivers ever.

His longevity, perseverance, and production prove the fact in the form of statistics.

At the end of the 2025 season, here's where Sutton ranks among all Broncos receivers:

• Receptions: 6th, 453
• Yards: 5th, 6,357
• Touchdowns: 8th, 39
• Yards per reception: 14th, 14.0
• Receptions per game: 10th, 3.9
• Yards per game: 10th, 55.3

And with a decent season next year, Sutton will be in the top-5 in receptions, yards, and touchdowns.

He needs only 10 catches for 5th—passing Ed McCaffrey—and 91 receptions to move into 4th ahead of Lionel Taylor.

Sutton needs 518 yards to pass Taylor and move into 4th in that category.

And 6 touchdowns would move him into 5th, 8 touchdowns would move Sutton into 4th in scoring plays.

That means, the only three guys ahead of him will be Rod Smith, Demaryius Thomas, and Shannon Sharpe in those three key categories. Each of them were the No. 1 receiver—even Sharpe as a tight end in the early 90s—during their distinct eras. Sutton has been the man of these teams.

It's time we put some 'spect on Sutton's name.

Plus, we should note that he's under contract for four more seasons. While Denver could move on from him in 2029 or even 2028, Sutton will cement him self as a top-4 receiver in Broncos history. If he were to play all four years, and stay productive, he could be in 2nd in those three stats.

He needs 223 receptions, 2,699 yards, and 22 touchdowns to trail only Smith in each. They're well within reach if he plays all four years in Denver.

Either way, he's made a case to be on the Broncos Mount Rushmore of receivers.

Sutton Deserves Credit for Staying with Broncos Through Down Seasons, Bad QBs

No one deserves the Broncos current success more than Sutton.

He's the longest-tenured Broncos player outside of Garett Bolles, who was drafted by Denver a year before the receiver, in 2017. Exactly half of Sutton's career—4-of-8 seasons—the Broncos lost double-digit games.

The team was only that bad three other times post the AFL-NFL Merger in 1970.

And Sutton went through three of those seasons in a row, from 2020-2022, with Vic Fangio and Nathaniel Hackett as head coaches.

His quarterbacks have also ranged into the double digits: 11 in total.

They were, in order: Case Keenum, Joe Flacco, Drew Lock, Brandon Allen, Jeff Driskel, Brett Rypien, Kendall Hinton, Teddy Bridgewater, Russell Wilson, Jarrett Stidham, and now Bo Nix.

So, you know he's happy Bo Nix is his current QB.

"The dude's special, this is an elite football play," Sutton said of Nix's highlight throw of the season against Washington, where his knee is inches off the turf when he flings it to No. 14 for the score.

Even through all of the changes, including four different head coaches, Sutton stuck with the Broncos and never complained. Now he's reaping the rewards as Denver made the playoffs the last two straight seasons and will continue to going forward in all likelihood.

Many will say that Sutton is "only" a No. 2 receiver, that he was never a "real" No. 1 guy.

Last year he was 12th in yards, 21st in receptions, and 10th in touchdowns at the position. In 2024 he was: 13th in yards, 18th in receptions, and 11th in touchdowns.

Those are No. 1 numbers!

It will be interesting and exciting to see what happens next for Sutton now that Jaylen Waddle joins him. Will Waddle be the "true" No. 1 guy? It seems likely. Or a 1a 1b type situation.

Either way, the new receiver will demand coverage which will help get Sutton open, even if his targets diminish some.

Highlights

He's also had no shortage of highlight-reel worthy plays over the course of his career. Simply, he's made a lot of his mediocre (or worse) quarterbacks look good by bailing them out with spectacular receptions.

The one that sticks out to me off the top is his game-winning touchdown grab against the Bills in 2022. The ability to get his feet in, lay out, and still complete the catch was Sutton special.

He has a lot of diving touchdowns. The one in the win over the Green Bay Packers this year was fantastic.

Here's a great reel of his highlights from the Broncos last offseason.

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Sutton's 2025, career notables

• 2025 was his third 1,000-yard season, which is tied for fourth most for Broncos receivers.
• Eight years in, he finally caught his first postseason touchdown pass this year in the AFC Championship Game, which ironically came from Stidham.
• He is 1-of-4 receivers to catch 7-plus touchdowns the last three consecutive seasons.
• 2025 was his 5th consecutive season of 700-plus yards, which is fourth behind the "big 3" of Smith, Sharpe, and Thomas.
• He was the third-fastest Broncos player to reach 400 career receptions (103 games). DT did it in a mere 76 games!
• Earned his 10th 100-yard career performance.
• Started his 100th game, the 10th Broncos receiver to do so.

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Rich Kurtzman was born and raised in Denver Colorado and attended Colorado State University in Fort Collins in the aughts. He's been a professional writer since 2011, covering Colorado State football and men's basketball, as well as the Denver Broncos, for many outlets. Current Denver Broncos work can be found on Mile High Sports. Previous credits include CBS Denver and The USA TODAY Sports Media Group.

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