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The Denver Broncos are coming off a nightmare 2022 in the first year of the Russell Wilson era. That era has been replaced early on and now we’re in the Sean Payton era. The Super Bowl-winning coach was brought into Denver to fix the mess that Nathaniel Hackett left behind. There’s no hope of a bounce-back season, which could impact WR Courtland Sutton. Here we’re going to go over his outlook for the 2023 season.
2023 Fantasy Football: Courtland Sutton Profile
Recap of 2022 season
After his Pro Bowl season in 2019, Sutton really hasn’t been the same. Injuries and inconsistent play at QB have hurt Sutton in all facets of football. He finished 2022 with 64 receptions for 829 yards and two TDs mostly with Wilson under center. Sutton was jumped on the depth chart by WR Jerry Jeudy, now in his fourth season.
Updated Denver Broncos outlook
Bringing in Payton is obviously big for the franchise overall. He should help fix the offense and could get Wilson back to playing among the elite QBs in the NFL. Aside from that, the offense shouldn’t look too different. RB Javonte Williams should be back from a torn ACL that forced him to miss most of 2022. Samaje Perine was brought in to spell Williams and be a change-of-pace back. WR Marvin Mims Jr. was drafted in the second round out of Oklahoma. TE Adam Trautman was signed after playing under Payton in New Orleans. QB Jarrett Stidham was also brought in to back up Wilson.
Best case scenario
The best case is Sutton stays healthy and Payton gets the offense back on track. If that’s the case, Sutton has a path to being the No. 1 WR again or a solid 1B to Jeudy’s 1A. That could mean Sutton gets back to the numbers he posted in 2019, over 1,000 receiving yards with around 6-8 TDs. That would make Sutton a pretty viable FLEX option and fringe WR2/3 in PPR formats.
Worst case scenario
Sutton deals with injuries and falls behind the younger receivers. Jeudy already should be the No. 1 WR over Sutton. That would mean Sutton is battling it out with Mims, Jalen Virgil, Marquez Calloway and Kendall Hinton for targets and snaps. If Mims overtakes Sutton as the second wideout, it would mean he isn’t in most downs. Sutton could still get to 600-800 receiving yards and a handful of TDs. That wouldn’t make it anything more than an inconsistent FLEX play in PPR.
Prediction
Sutton is still viewed as the No. 2 wideout for Denver and has a similar season to 2022. He finishes with around 800-1,000 receiving yards and a few more TDs, assuming the offense rebounds. Mims and the rest of that group shouldn’t overtake Sutton completely on the depth chart. As long as Sutton can stay healthy, he’ll be a solid safety blanket/possession receiver alongside Jeudy. Sutton should end up an OK FLEX play in PPR.