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Denver Broncos: Give the ball to Courtland Sutton more

By Cameron Parker

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - OCTOBER 27: Courtland Sutton #14 of the Denver Broncos makes a first down catch during second quarter of the game against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium on October 27, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Bobby Ellis/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - OCTOBER 27: Courtland Sutton #14 of the Denver Broncos makes a first down catch during second quarter of the game against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium on October 27, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Bobby Ellis/Getty Images) /
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While Denver Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton is having a breakout season in 2019, it seems he needs more targets than what he has seen recently.

Last season, the Denver Broncos traded away veteran wide receiver Demaryius Thomas to make way for more touches and opportunities for then-rookie Courtland Sutton.

Sutton dealt with a case of the drops in 2018, but his steady and fast growth up toward the top of the NFL wide receiver charts is nothing short of amazing. Although there were once were doubts regarding Sutton’s route running, he is turning into an elite all-around wide receiver.

Despite an up-and-down performance by Joe Flacco, Sutton is close to achieving his first 1,000-yard season as a Denver Bronco. Yet there are still times he could (should) be given more targets than he already has been.

The most Sutton has been targeted in 2019 is eight times, which seems like plenty. However, with Emmanuel Sanders gone and Sutton now the true number one threat on offense, new quarterback Brandon Allen needs to get the ball to Sutton as much as possible.

The opportunities are there each game, but he needs close to 10 targets in every outing going forward.

Defensive backs struggle to stay stride-for-stride with Sutton, and there’s no better example of that than this past weekend in Indianapolis. Colts cornerback Rock Ya-Sin is a rookie, but he was posterized plenty by Sutton in their matchups.

Yet, he still had only three catches (and drew a number of pass interference penalties). Even with the target question earlier, Sutton is not featured enough in the red zone. Due to his size and elite 50-50 ball skills, Denver needs to do everything they can to give him that chance when they are not committed to running the ball in the red zone.

The red zone inefficiencies are another story, but they have playmakers to be successful. Avoiding Sutton in the red zone just seems like a missed opportunity right now.

Offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello has had an up-and-down season like Flacco. Yet, he must find ways to gameplan to get Sutton involved more in the red zone while still committing to the run.

Next. What's the Broncos' plan for Drew Lock now?. dark

Sutton is more than capable of shouldering the responsibilities of a number one wide receiver. In doing so, he needs more touches than he’s already gotten.

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