Denver Bronco Pass Catchers: Courtland Sutton, Noah Fant, Jerry Jeudy

by Alan Seslowsky

The Denver Broncos are a team that many people are excited to see from a fantasy perspective. They have a second-year QB, Drew Lock, who showed a spark at the end of 2019, along with an exciting group of young pass-catchers. On The RosterWatch Podcast #268, our co-founder Alex Dunlap sat down with Ben Allbright, a Denver Bronco beat reporter for KOA, to break down the Broncos fantasy outlook. Below are a few actionable takeaways from that discussion.

Courtland Sutton is an “Alpha” 

Comparing the prospect outlook of Sutton vs incoming rookie Jerry Jeudy, it is fair to say that Jeudy’s outlook vs Sutton’s is simply better. Jeudy’s first-round draft pedigree vs Suttons second-round draft capital supports that. There is unfounded talk that Jeudy is going to come in right away and crush the fantasy value of Sutton. 

Sutton over-delivered on his prospect profile and has played much better than many thought he would. Ben Allbright explained that Sutton has that “Alpha Dog” mentality. His work ethic and alpha mentality came out in training camp last year when he got into a fight with veteran WR Emanuel Sanders because he thought Sanders was taking plays off. Sutton called out Sanders saying that he was setting a bad example for everyone else. RosterWatch co-founder Alex Dunlap pointed out that Sutton was a player that got better every day during his pro day in the lead up to the NFL draft. He’s also the established starter in the offense who has proven his worth as a No.1 on an actual NFL field. Those fantasy owners crossing off Courtland Sutton at his late fourth-round ADP may be doing so at their own peril. 

 

Noah Fant in a TE-Friendly Offense

Fantasy players are split on Noah Fant’s fantasy outlook for 2020. There is a faction who believes that since the Broncos used three significant draft picks on pass catchers, that there is not enough to go around to make Fant a reliable fantasy starter. There is merit to that logic, however, it is important to examine what happened late last season when Drew Lock took over as the QB. In Week 9 when Denver played Cleveland, it served as a breakout performance for Fant, garnering a 3/115/1 stat line. Fant still needs to develop his ball tracking skills to make him a consistent fantasy starter, but he will be a significant part of new OC Pat Shurmur’s TE-friendly offense in 2020. 

 

Jerry Jeudy – Can He Beat Press Coverage?

Jeudy projects as one of the better WR prospects RosterWatch has scouted over the last decade. He displayed polished, NFL-ready route-running skills. In a normal year rookie WRs take some time to get used to the nuances of the NFL game. Given the abbreviated “Covid-19” offseason, the acclimation period could be longer. There is reason to be concerned if he is playing the outside WR role. Jeudy’s ability to beat NFL press coverage right off the bat is an area of concern. At Alabama, he rarely faced press coverage due to the depth of WR talent on the team. If the Broncos determine that is an issue, the good thing is that they could have Jeudy play more in the slot to free him up. This would bode well for Jerry Jeudy’s rookie year fantasy relevance facing the lesser defenders most teams have manning the slot while the star corners handle the outside receivers.