Courtland Sutton says ‘record book will be hit hard by Bo Nix’

Courtland Sutton has been a Denver Broncos wide receiver for a long time and he sounds happier about it now than maybe ever—amazing what a quarterback can do and the Orange and Blue appear to have found their man in Bo Nix.

Since the Broncos selected Sutton in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft, Nix is gunslinger No. 11 to start in Denver. Named AFC Offensive Player of the Week, the future appears to be bright for the Broncos offense and boy was it darkest before this dawn.

Trading for former MVP candidate Russell Wilson and extending him to a massive contract blew up in the Broncos faces big time. They cut the quarterback and several other veterans this offseason seemingly taking a step back to rebuild around a rookie quarterback. But the Broncos didn’t pick until No. 12 in this year’s draft and by that time they were left with the sixth quarterback to get selected. However, it was the man Sean Payton says he was always targeting—Nix.

For Sutton, the writing was on the wall that his time in Denver was nearing an end. It was all too likely he would follow other big-name Broncos in the exodus. There was real trade chatter. Plus, he himself was holding out seeking new terms. And at 29 and never being on a winning team, things must have been pretty frustrating. However, a new deal got done and maybe that was the first sign that things were about to be great moving forward.

Fast forward a few months and Sutton has 49 catches for 647 yards and three touchdowns for a 6-5 team—that he never had to leave.

“I feel like I would need to go find me a good thesaurus to describe how excited I am for him and happy I am for him,” Sutton said of Nix on Wednesday. “He shows up to work hungry for more. A student of the game, a guy that you could tell loves the game, he loves the game of ball. And listening to him talk ball there’s nothing boring about listening to him talk ball. He just has so many ideas. He has so much joy and what he sees each week from the defenses. To see him have the success that he’s having. It brings me joy to be able to be a part of it. I tell you guys all the time, it’s only beginning, he’s gonna have a long career. He’s gonna have a long, healthy, successful career. And this is just the tip of the iceberg for him.”

While Nix was a Heisman candidate a year ago, in part due to some gaudy numbers at Oregon, he wasn’t expected to set the NFL ablaze out the gate. Many expected Nix to be a steady quarterback who had started many college games. While that’s been mostly the case, the consistency plus a few standout performances has led Nix to one of the better rookie years in Broncos history.

Nix’s game against the Falcons saw the former Duck become the first rookie in NFL history to have four touchdowns, 300 passing yards and an 80% completion rate while throwing no picks. It’s that showing that got Nix the AFC POTW nod, becoming the first Broncos rookie to win AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors since running back Phil Lindsay accomplished that in 2018. The last Broncos rookie to earn any Player of the Week nod is Pat Surtain II, named AFC Defensive Player of the Week in 2021, and Marvin Mims Jr., who was chosen as Special Teams Player of the Week in 2023. Those three rank as some of the better first pro seasons in franchise history.

“Understanding that he’s having success, but, you know, continuing to keep going, continuing to break through each ceiling that he comes upon. And I think that he’s doing that week in and week out. He’s hitting a ceiling and breaking through it, and then going on to the next one,” Sutton said. “The record book is going to be hit pretty hard by him. I think the way that he’s attacking the games and his preparation, and the joy he has in the game, I think that he’s only going to continue to ascend from here. I’m just happy for him.”

Sutton’s contract will see him be a Broncos pass-catcher through at least Nix’s sophomore season.

“That security blanket, just to be able to throw it to him, or even when he’s covered, when it’s tight coverage, one-on-ones, I know he’s going to be willing to go make a play on the ball,” Nix said of Sutton on Wednesday. “It may be incomplete, but he’s going to put forth the effort to go out there and get it. So that’s all that really matters to me.”

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