When the Broncos drafted Courtland Sutton and DaeSean Hamilton in 2018, the team already had two star wide receivers in Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders. Despite knowing that Sutton and Hamilton would likely eventually take their roster spots, Thomas and Sanders served as mentors for the young receivers.
“DaeSean and I both came into a room where we had Demaryius and Emmanuel who were Pro Bowlers, Super Bowl-winning guys,” Sutton said on May 14. “We walked in there and it was like we must be sponges. These dudes have seen what we want to see and have done what we want to do. It would be crazy for us not to go in there and absorb that knowledge.”
Three years later, Sutton is now the experienced receiver in Denver’s wide receiver room and he will be tasked with helping mentor rookies Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler. He’s more than happy to take on that role.
“I think the roles have transformed in their own way to where DaeSean and I are looked at as the older guys in the room,” Sutton said. “It’s something that we take upon ourselves to want help ‘Coach Z’ [wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni] coach these guys because that’s what we got when we came into the room. We came into a room where Demaryius and Emmanuel were not afraid to give us guidance on the field, off the field, whatever it may be.
“Those guys didn’t hesitate to give us guidance to help us understand how we’re supposed to move around the league because you feel like you have an understanding. You think that everyone in their age no matter what it is — you feel like you understand everything. To be able to take a step back and understand that you don’t understand everything, there are things that you need help and guidance on, we had that when we came into that room.”
Sutton made the Pro Bowl as an alternate last season after catching 72 passes for 1,112 yards and six touchdowns. He hasn’t yet reached the level that Thomas and Sanders reached in their careers but he is ready to pass down the instruction that those receivers gave to him.
“Being able to give that back to the guys that are coming into the room now, it’s awesome to be able to be in a position where we had good leaders who showed us the way,” Sutton said.
“They gave us a blueprint to be able to pass this knowledge on and continue this trend so that our room can continue to grow and continue to get that respect around the league that we feel like we deserve from what we are capable of producing on the field.”
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