Bo Nix doesn’t care how tight the coverage is. If he sees Courtland Sutton running down the field, the Broncos quarterback is confident good things will happen.
That has been prevalent as Nix has gotten more comfortable over the past five weeks, and especially in Denver’s 38-6 win over the Falcons last Sunday. In the third quarter of that matchup, Nix rolled to the right and pumped fake before lofting the ball to midfield where Denver’s veteran wideout made one of his trademark contested catches over Atlanta cornerback A.J. Terrell Jr.
The play followed a familiar trend: As Nix’s production level has increased, so has Sutton’s.
After the 29-year-old pass-catcher didn’t record a single target in Denver’s prime-time win over the Saints in Week 7, he has been one of the most productive wide receivers in the league.
“That’s a security blanket just to be able to throw it to him,” Nix said. “Even when he’s covered, I know he’s willing to make a play on the ball. It may be incomplete, but he’s going to put forth the effort to go out there and get it. That’s all that matters to me.”
Since Week 8, Sutton has 28 catches for 370 yards — third-most in the league behind Cincinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase and Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson — and a touchdown. He has recorded at least 100 receiving yards in two of the last four games.
Sutton’s 78-yard performance against Atlanta marked his sixth game with 60-plus receiving yards. Sitting at 647 for the season, he is now on pace to top last year’s total (772) by a significant amount. According to ESPN, he’s projected to reach 1,000 yards — a feat that appeared unlikely after he had 277 yards and two touchdowns on 21 catches over the first seven weeks.
Of course, the last of those seven weeks was the goose egg in New Orleans.
Sutton projected optimism after that Thursday night game — a 33-10 rout of the Saints — but the lack of production stood out in an otherwise dominant night for the Broncos.
It’s not uncommon for young quarterbacks to need time to develop chemistry with their receivers, even one as experienced as Sutton. It just so happened that Nix and Sutton turned the corner immediately after they struggled to connect in the Big Easy.
The rookie signal-caller has a completion percentage of 73.7% and 112.8 passer rating when targeting Sutton since that night, according to NFL’s Next Gen Stats. Those numbers are night and day from the first seven weeks when Nix completed 44.7% of his passes for a 51.5 passer rating when targeting Sutton. That included three interceptions thrown in Sutton’s vicinity during that span.
“You have guys that play years together, and that’s when you see those numbers pop out,” Sutton said. “For Bo and I, it’s a week-in and week-out thing (that’s) continuing to develop. Continuing to fine-tune the things that we do well and fine-tune the things that we don’t do well so we have a repertoire that is very deep.”
Nix has the utmost trust in Sutton because of the receiver’s effectiveness in man coverage. Sutton has 17 catches for 204 yards and two touchdowns on 25 targets when covered one-on-one, according to Next Gen Stats. And he has 12 catches for 196 yards and a touchdown on 16 targets in man coverage since Week 8.
Sutton has also been a reliable target on explosive plays. When Nix has targeted Sutton on pass attempts when the ball travels 20-plus air yards, he has completed 8 of 15 throws (53.3%) for 204 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He has a 110.4 passer rating in those situations.
“If it’s one-on-one, he’s not really covered,” offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said. “If you can locate the ball, he comes down with the ball way more than average. Just a trustworthy guy.”
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Sutton has enjoyed working with Nix and watching their chemistry grow each week. He said Nix has a ton of joy talking football and always has new ideas for attacking defenses.
If the Broncos want to remain in the playoff race, they will need Nix and Sutton’s connection to continue to thrive.
“I’m not saying that it will be perfect every week, but something that we’re getting better at,” Sutton said.
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