Broncos Mailbag: Will Courtland Sutton be the No. 1 receiver when the season starts? – The Denver Post
Denver Post Broncos writer Ryan O’Halloran posts his Broncos Mailbag periodically during the season. Submit questions to Ryan here.
What is the latest on Courtland Sutton? I haven’t heard much about his rehabilitation and am wondering where exactly he fits into the offense. Is he the No. 1 receiver and Jerry Jeudy No. 2, or the other way around?
— Mark Symns, Boulder
The Broncos have been cautious with Sutton’s work during training camp, but all indications are that he will be ready for full duty Sept. 12 at the New York Giants, about 51 weeks removed from his torn ACL.
Sutton, it appears, has had to fight off the rust during camp. He has had a couple of practices where he looked dynamic and that should be exciting for Broncos fans. Sutton is expected to play a few snaps Saturday against the Los Angeles Rams.
For me, Sutton is the No. 1 receiver until he proves he isn’t. Jeudy has made a couple splash plays in the preseason and that should carry over to the regular season if Sutton returns to form.
Can we talk about that Dalton Risner’s touchdown? It’s highlight-reel worthy, yes, but risky as heck. So many things could have gone wrong with that play. Have the coaching staff said much about it? What do you think about it?
— Larry, Fort Collins
Oh yeah, I was hoping somebody would ask about that play. First, coach Vic Fangio admitted he didn’t have a good view of the play in which Risner appeared to take the football out of running back Javonte Williams’ hands and get credited for the touchdown.
I don’t get what Risner was thinking … if he was. It doesn’t appear Williams was on his way to fumbling and it’s not like it was fourth down and Risner had nothing to lose. It was a reckless play, but I’m half-expecting one of the local media outlets in town to throw a parade in Risner’s honor.
Teddy Bridgewater looked amazing against the Seahawks. He’s the front-runner now, right? Please tell me he’s in line to be the Broncos’ quarterback.
— Pete C., Denver
By the time this is published, coach Vic Fangio may have announced his starting quarterback for Week 1. Drew Lock did well with some of the first-teamers against Minnesota and Bridgewater did well with most of the first-teamers against Seattle.
What impressed me the most about Bridgewater on Saturday was what Fangio pointed out — pocket presence. He’s patient, aware and accurate.
When camp started, I figured Fangio would have an easy decision and go with Bridgewater, but Lock has exceeded the expectations I had for him. It will come down to which quarterback Fangio feels can avoid the back-breaking mistake.
Ryan, what’s left to be decided with the starters beyond quarterback? Do you think Pat Surtain II has played well enough to claim the No. 2 cornerback spot? And should we temper our expectations for this team? Holding the opponents to just nine points through two preseason games is still impressive.
— Miles, Parker
Right tackle: Bobby Massie started against Minnesota and Calvin Anderson against Seattle. Anderson also has positional versatility — he started at right tackle in the Vikings game and moved to left tackle in the Seahawks game when Garett Bolles departed. I would go with the experienced Massie knowing Anderson is a good back-up at both spots.
No. 2 cornerback: It appears Kyle Fuller has settled into that role during the last week of practice and the Seattle game. Surtain is having too good of a camp, though, to not include him in some defensive packages, which to me means the Broncos should play a lot of six-defensive back personnel (dime).
I would temper the expectations, but that doesn’t mean fans can’t be fired up about the first two preseason games. The Broncos’ back-ups are better than those in Minnesota and Seattle, which is encouraging because some of those guys will need to play big roles as the season goes along.
Ryan, I’m super excited about the Broncos’ edge rushers this year. Von Miller is healthy. Bradley Chubb is a beast. Malik Reed is exciting and now we have Jonathon Cooper. He looks like a steal in the seventh round. How big is the rookie’s role going to be in 2021?
— Marvin, Thornton
Cooper has been the best story of training camp. Remember, he missed the entire offseason program following a heart procedure so that meant he had a ton of catching up to do. Consider him caught up. He had two sacks against Seattle.
If the season started today, Cooper would be the fourth edge rusher behind Miller, Chubb and Reed. That kind of depth is important because of the injury histories of Miller and Chubb.
Denver Post Broncos writer Ryan O’Halloran posts his Broncos Mailbag periodically during the season. Submit questions to Ryan here.
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