There are a lot of good No. 1 wide receivers in the league; a lot of go-to guys. Most would agree the best two are Michael Thomas and Davante Adams. After that, a lot of the No. 1s will also lose some looks to very good No. 2s. A possible exception is Denver's Courtland Sutton.
Yes Denver just selected Jerry Jeudy and K.J. Hamler in the first two rounds, and they've got holdover DaeSean Hamilton, who I wrote about last week. But Jeudy and Hamler will need time to get up to speed. Hamilton was there last year. And Sutton dominated production like nobody in the league except for Michael Thomas.
Last season, Sutton accounted for 33 percent of Denver's passing yards, 2nd-only to Thomas. He caught a modest 6 touchdowns, but even that was 38 percent of the team total, which was a top-5 number. Will it really be much different in 2020 with only a couple of rookies, Hamilton, and other positional players taking a cut? I think Sutton looks really good in this offense.
| WIDE RECEIVERS, PERCENT OF TEAM, 2019 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | I.Rec | I.Yds | I.TD | %Rec | %Yds | %TD |
| Michael Thomas, N.O. | 149 | 1,725 | 9 | 36% | 39% | 25% |
| Courtland Sutton, Den. | 72 | 1,112 | 6 | 23% | 33% | 38% |
| Allen Robinson, Chi. | 98 | 1,147 | 7 | 26% | 32% | 35% |
| Jarvis Landry, Cle. | 83 | 1,174 | 6 | 26% | 31% | 27% |
| John Brown, Buff. | 72 | 1,060 | 6 | 24% | 30% | 29% |
| Stefon Diggs, Min. | 63 | 1,130 | 6 | 20% | 30% | 23% |
| DeVante Parker, Mia. | 72 | 1,202 | 9 | 19% | 29% | 41% |
| Terry McLaurin, Was. | 58 | 919 | 7 | 19% | 29% | 39% |
| DeAndre Hopkins, Hou. | 104 | 1,165 | 7 | 29% | 29% | 26% |
| DJ Moore, Car. | 87 | 1,175 | 4 | 23% | 28% | 24% |
| Kenny Golladay, Det. | 65 | 1,190 | 11 | 19% | 28% | 39% |
| Julio Jones, Atl. | 99 | 1,394 | 6 | 22% | 28% | 21% |
| Odell Beckham, Cle. | 74 | 1,035 | 4 | 23% | 27% | 18% |
| Julian Edelman, N.E. | 100 | 1,117 | 6 | 26% | 27% | 24% |
| A.J. Brown, Ten. | 52 | 1,051 | 8 | 18% | 27% | 28% |
| Tyler Boyd, Cin. | 90 | 1,046 | 5 | 25% | 26% | 28% |
| Chris Godwin, T.B. | 86 | 1,333 | 9 | 23% | 26% | 27% |
| Keenan Allen, LAC | 104 | 1,199 | 6 | 26% | 26% | 25% |
| Tyler Lockett, Sea. | 82 | 1,057 | 8 | 24% | 26% | 26% |
| DJ Chark, Jac. | 73 | 1,008 | 8 | 20% | 25% | 33% |
| Cooper Kupp, LAR | 94 | 1,161 | 10 | 24% | 25% | 45% |
| Davante Adams, G.B. | 83 | 997 | 5 | 23% | 25% | 19% |
| Robert Woods, LAR | 90 | 1,134 | 2 | 23% | 24% | 9% |
| Amari Cooper, Dall. | 79 | 1,189 | 8 | 20% | 24% | 27% |
| Jamison Crowder, NYJ | 78 | 833 | 6 | 24% | 24% | 32% |
| James Washington, Pitt. | 44 | 735 | 3 | 14% | 23% | 17% |
| Robby Anderson, NYJ | 52 | 779 | 5 | 16% | 23% | 26% |
| Michael Gallup, Dall. | 66 | 1,107 | 6 | 17% | 23% | 20% |
| Mike Evans, T.B. | 67 | 1,157 | 8 | 18% | 23% | 24% |
| Cole Beasley, Buff. | 67 | 778 | 6 | 22% | 22% | 29% |
| DK Metcalf, Sea. | 58 | 900 | 7 | 17% | 22% | 23% |
| Mike Williams, LAC | 49 | 1,001 | 2 | 12% | 22% | 8% |
| Larry Fitzgerald, Ariz. | 75 | 804 | 4 | 21% | 21% | 20% |
| Diontae Johnson, Pitt. | 59 | 680 | 5 | 19% | 21% | 28% |
| Deebo Samuel, S.F. | 57 | 802 | 3 | 17% | 20% | 11% |
| Chris Conley, Jac. | 47 | 775 | 5 | 13% | 19% | 21% |
| Christian Kirk, Ariz. | 68 | 709 | 3 | 19% | 19% | 15% |
| Marvin Jones, Det. | 62 | 779 | 9 | 18% | 19% | 32% |
| Anthony Miller, Chi. | 52 | 656 | 2 | 14% | 18% | 10% |
| Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 58 | 860 | 7 | 15% | 18% | 23% |
| Zach Pascal, Ind. | 41 | 607 | 5 | 13% | 18% | 23% |
| Darius Slayton, NYG | 48 | 740 | 8 | 13% | 18% | 27% |
| Marquise Brown, Balt. | 46 | 584 | 7 | 16% | 17% | 19% |
| JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pitt. | 42 | 552 | 3 | 13% | 17% | 17% |
| Calvin Ridley, Atl. | 63 | 866 | 7 | 14% | 17% | 24% |
| Randall Cobb, Dall. | 55 | 828 | 3 | 14% | 17% | 10% |
| Golden Tate, NYG | 49 | 676 | 6 | 13% | 17% | 20% |
| Will Fuller, Hou. | 49 | 670 | 3 | 14% | 16% | 11% |
| Dede Westbrook, Jac. | 66 | 660 | 3 | 18% | 16% | 13% |
| Danny Amendola, Det. | 62 | 678 | 1 | 18% | 16% | 4% |
| Tyrell Williams, Oak. | 42 | 651 | 6 | 11% | 16% | 27% |
| Corey Davis, Ten. | 43 | 601 | 2 | 14% | 15% | 7% |
| Curtis Samuel, Car. | 54 | 627 | 6 | 14% | 15% | 35% |
| T.Y. Hilton, Ind. | 45 | 501 | 5 | 15% | 15% | 23% |
| Hunter Renfrow, Oak. | 49 | 605 | 4 | 13% | 15% | 18% |
Can Drew Lock play? That's a valid question, since there's not a lengthy track record to go on. But even if there are growing pains, is Denver's passing game likely to be worse or less effective than it was for the bulk of last season? I don't think so.
Sutton is a guy I'll be interested in selecting as a starter this season.
--Andy Richardson