The Denver Broncos are currently engaged in summer activities to prepare for the 2026 NFL season. Denver hopes to have a promising season, as some of Bo Nix’s targets will be Courtland Sutton and former Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle. Sutton hasn’t even played a snap with one of the Broncos’ newest wide receivers, but he had nothing but positive things to say about Waddle. Now it’s time to take a deeper dive into what makes Sutton excited about playing alongside Waddle.
Sutton Is Already Noticing Waddle’s Unique Skills
Even in the team’s first few practices and after watching film, Sutton is already amazed by what Waddle is capable of on the football field.
“Being able to see the things that he does really well, but being able to see it up close, he’s a special dude there’s a lot of things he has that are very unique to himself,” Sutton said. “I think that [Davis Webb] and [Sean Payton] have done a really good job of already just trying to figure out the things that he can do to help our offense.”
Some of Waddle’s abilities that Sutton expanded on include not only his speed but also his football intelligence.
“He has tremendous speed; his speed and acceleration paired together are top tier,” Sutton said. “His understanding of offenses, just football knowledge, being able to understand how to manipulate his speed to be able to get into these spots, once the ball gets in his hand, he’s trying to get to the end zone.”
The addition of Waddle can create more opportunities for the Broncos’ pass and run game
Since Waddle is part of the Broncos’ wide receiver room, which was already talented before his arrival, it will be more challenging for opposing defenses to stop Denver’s offense successfully, as they won’t just have to try to limit the wide receivers but also each of the team’s talented running backs.
“It’s really hard [for defenses] to be able to sit back and say we’re going to use our safeties to take away myself and [Waddle] and then the rest of the receivers in our room because we have such a tremendous run game,” Sutton said.
Sutton is confident that he and Waddle can both be decoys to help the run game, while giving props not only to Waddle but also to the other wide receivers who played a significant role in the offense’s success last season.
“I think that [Waddle] and I being able to manipulate the outside is going to help the run game,” Sutton said. “Ultimately whenever we do get a chance to get these one-on-one looks, I think it’s going to be interesting to see where that safety does decide to shade because I think that we have the weapons in our room, not only with myself and [Waddle], but the rest of the guys in the room, I think [Troy Franklin] made tremendous progress from year to year, [Marvin Mims Jr.] as well, Pat Bryant had a tremendous year as well for a young guy, getting [Lil’Jordan Humphrey] back was also a big pick up for us late in the season.”
One area where the Broncos have received a lot of scrutiny since last season is the lack of productivity from their tight ends. In contrast, Sutton believes the tight ends look great and will have just as big an impact on the offense as the wide receivers.
“The tight ends look really good, I think we have great tight ends,” Sutton said. “I think that they do their job really, really well, they do what’s asked of them to a high level, [Adam Trautman], [Evan Engram], [Lucas Krull], getting those guys going is really big, and I think that when every piece of our offense can contribute to the game, that’s where our offense is going to grow.”
Sutton is willing to have fewer targets because of Waddle and is most focused on winning
With all of Denver’s wide receivers heading into this season, the attention won’t all be on Sutton. However, he is willing to take fewer targets, as it can take the weight off him, while he ultimately cares more about finding success through wins.
“At the end of the day, I want to win games, and I think last year we saw what it would take for a selfless offense to be able to get to where we want to get to,” Sutton said.
Another point Sutton mentions is that the team’s offense as a whole has the same mentality of putting the team first over individual accolades.
“I don’t think that we have any individuals in our offense that are saying, I need this, I need that,” Sutton said. “I think we have a bunch of guys that are willing to put their pride aside and say, hey, look what do I need to do for this team to be successful.”
