DEN Denver Broncos · WR· #14

Courtland Sutton

Age
31
Height
6'4"
Weight
216 lbs
College
SMU
Drafted
2018, No. 40 overall (DEN)
Experience
9th NFL season

38

Overall grade

88th of 94 wide receivers

Among the weakest

well below average; 50 is average

Grades updated Rechecked every few hours on game days

The read

Courtland grades well below average among wide receivers so far, with no number far from the middle.

Written from his numbers, not from film. 5 games are behind the season figures.

How he stacks up

Every graded stat at a glance, against all the wide receivers in the league.

  • Drop rate5.0%48th of 85small sample
  • Yards after catch over expected−1.1 yds48th of 83small sample
  • Share of the team's passes14%58th of 94
  • Catches over expected−18.1 pts90th of 94small sample
  • EPA per target−0.5991st of 94small sample

Left is the worst at his job, right is the best, and the line down the middle is average. The bubble is his percentile: 90 means better than nine in ten qualifying wide receivers. Faded bars are still small samples.

How he has progressed

Where he has ranked among wide receivers after each week, and every game behind it.

WorstMiddleBestrecent12345Week 2: 2nd percentileWeek 3: 2nd percentileWeek 4: 2nd percentileWeek 5: 3rd percentile3rd

Season rank holding near the 3rd percentile since Wk 2.

The line is his season-to-date rank among players at his position after each week, from 100 (the best) to 0 (the worst). It rises when he passes other players, not when he has one big game. Early weeks are noisier because fewer plays are behind them. The shaded weeks are the recent stretch.

EPA per target game by game
WeekOpponentThat gametargetsSeason rank after
1vs KC−0.965–
2vs JAX−0.6342nd pct
3vs LAR−0.6562nd pct
4vs SF−0.6052nd pct
5vs LAC+0.2433rd pct

One game is a small sample: a single stat over 5 targets can swing on a handful of plays. Shaded rows are the recent stretch.

The numbers, in context

Each one against every wide receiver with at least 12 targets. Right on the strip is better.

EPA per target

Among the weakest

−0.59

91st of 94 wide receivers · bottom 5%

Expected points added: how many points the play added to (or took from) the offense's scoring chances, given the down, the distance and the field position. Every target counts, caught or not, so a receiver cannot hide behind a catch total.

The box score: Receiving yards rise with targets, not with what the targets were worth.

Does it show up in winning? Across 208 games league-wide, teams won 64% of the time when their wide receiver was in the best third on EPA per target, and 36% when he was in the worst third.

Last 2 games: −0.28 (8) vs −0.75 before+9.0grade points upWithin the noise

Small sample: could move a lot · 23 targets · true level likely −1.12 to −0.06

Catches over expected

Among the weakest

−18.1 pts

90th of 94 wide receivers · bottom 6%

His catch rate compared with what each target's difficulty predicted. +4 means he catches 4 more of every 100 targets than the throws suggested.

The box score: Catch rate rewards the receiver who is only thrown easy passes.

Does it show up in winning? Across 207 games league-wide, teams won 62% of the time when their wide receiver was in the best third on catches over expected, and 39% when he was in the worst third.

Last 2 games: −27.7 pts (8) vs −12.9 pts before−11.8grade points downLeaning that way

Small sample: could move a lot · 23 targets · true level likely −33.2 pts to −3.0 pts

Yards after catch over expected

Typical

−1.1 yds

48th of 83 wide receivers · bottom 44%

The yards he gains after the catch compared with what a typical receiver gets from that spot. It separates the player who makes defenders miss from the one who is simply open.

The box score: Yards after the catch is a total, not a comparison with where he caught it.

Does it show up in winning? Across 176 games league-wide, a good or bad game on yards after catch over expected from a wide receiver has not lined up much with his team winning (49% wins in the best third, 58% in the worst).

Last 2 games: +3.4 yds (1) vs −1.8 yds before

Small sample: could move a lot · 8 catches · true level likely −4.6 yds to +2.4 yds

Drop rate

Typical

5.0%lower is better

48th of 85 wide receivers · bottom 45%

Passes charted as drops, per target. Fewer is better. Almost everyone has few, so it is shown but not counted in his overall grade.

The box score: Drops are not an official stat.

Does it show up in winning? Across 174 games league-wide, a good or bad game on drop rate from a wide receiver has not lined up much with his team winning (50% wins in the best third, 48% in the worst).

Last 2 games: 0.0% (5) vs 6.7% before+7.4grade points upWithin the noise

Small sample: could move a lot · 20 targets · true level likely -5.6% to 15.6%

Share of the team's passes

Below typical

14%

58th of 94 wide receivers · bottom 40%

The portion of his team's pass attempts that were thrown to him, in the games he was targeted. It shows whether he is the focus of the offense.

The box score: Targets and receptions do not say how big the offense's passing game was.

Does it show up in winning? Across 425 games league-wide, a good or bad game on share of the team's passes from a wide receiver has not lined up much with his team winning (56% wins in the best third, 54% in the worst).

Last 2 games: 12% (8) vs 15% before−4.9grade points downWithin the noise

Sample still growing · 23 targets · true level likely 9% to 18%

How he plays

Tendencies: how his game differs from the wide receivers around him. These are not better or worse, only different, and often say as much about the offense or defense he plays in as about him.

Average depth of target

Style

11.6 yds

Right around the middle of wide receivers: a typical one is 11.7 yds.

How far downfield his targets are, on average. It is a role, not a grade.

Sample still growing · 23 targets

Deep targets

Style

17%

Right around the middle of wide receivers: a typical one is 19%.

The share of his targets that are 20 or more yards downfield.

Small sample: could move a lot · 23 targets

Contested targets

Style

15%

Right around the middle of wide receivers: a typical one is 18%.

The share of his targets charted as contested: a defender is on him at the catch point. It says how he is used, not whether he wins.

Small sample: could move a lot · 20 targets

Screen targets

Style

0%

Is rarely a screen target, and more so than almost any of the wide receivers. A typical one is 5%.

The share of his targets that are screen passes, a sign his yards come from the offense's design.

Sample still growing · 20 targets

Playing time

He has played in 4 of his team's 4 games with snap counts, on the field for about 77% of the team's offensive plays when he plays.

Each column is a game: the share of his team's offensive snaps he played. 80% means about 8 of every 10 plays. “Out” means he did not play; a question mark means snap counts are not posted yet. Shaded games are the recent stretch.

Game by game

Every game this season: how it ended for his team, how much he played, his box score, and the advanced numbers from that one game. One game is a small sample, so read the right-hand columns as a snapshot, not his level.

Courtland Sutton game by game
GameResultSnapsTgtRecYdsTDEPA/targetCROEYAC over exp.Target share
Wk 1 vs KCL 10–3176%52110−0.96−29.6 pts−2.2 yds16%
Wk 2 vs JAXW 20–1373%43250−0.63+12.9 pts−2.7 yds13%
Wk 3 vs LARW 30–2687%62370−0.65−16.2 pts+0.1 yds17%
Wk 4 vs SFL 14–2473%5000−0.60−47.5 pts–12%
Wk 5 vs LACW 23–17–32181+0.24+5.3 pts+3.4 yds11%

The box score

The traditional totals, with where each ranks among wide receivers. A total rewards volume, which is why the advanced numbers above matter.

Courtland Sutton box score totals
StatTotalRank
Targets2345th of 94
Receptions973rd of 94
Receiving yards9188th of 94
Receiving touchdowns131st of 94

Players with a similar profile

The wide receivers whose grades are closest to his across the same stats. Similar means similar numbers, not the same style of play.

Ranks are among players at the same job who have enough plays to be graded. Grades and rankings come from play-by-play, charting and snap-count data, so they cannot see blocking, route running or assignments. See how the grades work.

← All players

Data: nflverse play-by-play, CC BY 4.0. Also FTN charting, Pro Football Reference advanced stats, snap counts and injury reports, all through nflverse. Calculations and charts by Raiders Rundown.