In 2024, there were 21 NFL wide receivers who surpassed 1,000 receiving yards. Denver Broncos star Courtland Sutton was one of them.
In ESPN’s 2025 Top 10 position rankings for wide receivers, there were 24 wide receives who received votes. Sutton wasn’t one of them.
Sometimes, in life and in football, people do things to let you know exactly what they think of you. In this case, Sutton and the Broncos know what the rest of the NFL thinks of them after the vote, which was put together by ESPN from votes from NFL executives and personnel.
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver and 2024 NFL Triple Crown winner Ja’Marr Chase was a no-brainer at No. 1.
No wide receivers from the AFC West made the Top 10 or even honorable mention. Only one AFC West wide receiver even received a single vote — Los Angeles Chargers second year wide receiver Ladd McConkey.
In 2024, Sutton had 81 receptions for 1,081 yards and 8 touchdowns as he helped lead the Broncos to the playoffs for the first time since the 2015 season. It was also the first 1,000 yard receiving season for the Broncos since 2019, the first time Sutton eclipsed th 1,000 yard mark.
Sutton Delivered Big After Getting Raise
The biggest storyline about Sutton off the field headed into 2024 — which hasn’t been an issue in 2025 — was his contract.
Sutton is headed into the final season of the 4-year, $60.8 million contract extension he signed in November 2021, which was renegotiated to give Sutton a slight raise before last season. While Sutton doesn’t deserve to get WR1 money — around $30 million per season — it seems reasonable for him to land a deal in the range of $20 million per year if he has another standout season in 2025.
Following the 2025 season, Sutton will have approximately $69.2 million in career earnings.
Parsing Out Other Options for Broncos
According to PFF, Tampa Bay’s Mike Evans and Washington’s Terry McLaurin are currently the 2 top free agent wide receiver options in 2025, although those are 2 players we can almost guarantee won’t be allowed to leave their respective teams.
After that, it’s a wasteland. The best option is probably Pickens, who is going to have to play his way into a big contract after a tumultuous time with the Pittsburgh Steelers that saw him traded in the offseason.
Another option for the Broncos is to draft a wide receiver in the first round of the 2026 NFL draft, which has its own set of problems.
After several years of top-notch draft classes at the position, 2026 projects as a down year before Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith is eligible to be drafted in 2027.
However, there’s little chance the Broncos will even be able to sniff Smith 2 years from now as he could be the first wide receiver taken at No. 1 overall since Keyshawn Johnson by the New York Jets in 1996.
In 2025, the Broncos could have (should have?) drafted a wide receiver in the first round but chose University of Texas defensive back Jahdae Barron at No. 20 overall — just one spot after Ohio State’s Emeka Egbuka at No. 19 to the Buccaneers and 3 picks ahead of Texas wide receiver Matthew Golden to the Green Bay Packers at No. 23 overall.
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