Courtland Sutton made a huge jump from his rookie season to his production last year with the Denver Broncos. The former SMU receiver did a lot to work on his game, and that is likely why he improved so much.
In comments on a video call with the media Thursday, Sutton said the biggest adjustment he had to make as a rookie was improving his route-running. According to The Athletic Broncos reporter Nicki Jhabvala, Sutton says he thought his route-running was good coming out of college, but he learned it wasn’t as good as he thought.
“That was one thing that I struggled with coming into the league. I thought that I was a good route-runner. I thought that I could run every route on the tree. But I got here and I realized that wasn’t the case. I needed to sit down and be able to watch the film, to listen to Coach Z (Zach Azzanni), Demaryius (Thomas), Emmanuel (Sanders) — listen to those guys and listen to how they explain what they come across.”
This was one of the best things Courtland Sutton said in his Zoom call with media today. He was asked about the biggest technical adjustment he had to make as a rookie in 2018 and he quickly pointed out his route-running: pic.twitter.com/rC3YcuQYqi
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) May 14, 2020
It takes a lot for a player drafted 40th overall to recognize and admit his skills weren’t as sharp as he thought. Sutton still had a good rookie year with 42 catches for 704 yards and four touchdowns. Last year he had a big jump with 72 catches for 1,112 yards and six touchdowns. His self-awareness about his game will likely serve as a driver in his continued improvement.
