Courtland Sutton has the makings of a big-time NFL receiver.
Courtland Sutton is a tall and speedy receiver from SMU. He fits best as a possession receiver that can go over the middle. I see Sutton as being a good yards after catch receiver. He was used a lot on screens and short passes at SMU and was able to gain a lot of yards there. Sutton has good hands catching technique and that will be key to him being a possession receiver. I see Sutton as an “x” receiver who could function in the slot and as a “z” receiver. Another thing that teams will like is that he can beat corners over the top and catch the long ball.
Sutton does have his weaknesses as well. I don’t think he was challenged particularly hard at SMU and the toughest competition he seemed to face was against TCU. His route running is going to need to become more sophisticated at the next level. He will not be able to rely on simple routes to beat the defender. He also will need to become more aggressive when catching the ball. He has a good catch radius, but he will need to fight for his catches in the NFL.
Sutton is a first rounder who will impress with the measurables. He is tall and fast, and that will help him at the combine. He also had a lot of success playing for a sub power five conference. Although he will probably be taken in the first round, he won’t be the first receiver taken off the board as Calvin Ridley did it against top competition and was very successful. The fear that teams may have is that Corey Davis was also from a smaller school and did not pan out as well in his rookie year as his draft position reflected. However, SMU is better competition than Western Michigan.
