Domata Peko says Courtland Sutton reminds him of Bengals wide receiver, A.J. Green

Veteran nose tackle Domata Peko joined Orange and Blue 760’s Ryan Edwards, Andrew Mason, and Steve Atwater after practice today and talked about multiple topics.

One topic brought up by Orange and Blue 760’s Steve Atwater was if the defense gets excited watching their young wide receiving teammates making big-time plays on the practice field. Peko answered he would like to see the defensive backs knock the ball down, but as a team, he is excited about number 14, Courtland Sutton. He didn’t stop there, the former Bengals captain says Sutton kinda reminds him of Bengals All-Pro wide receiver A.J. Green. Like Green, Sutton has the ability to get up their and high point the ball and snatch it out of the sky.

On Tuesday, Broncos Head Coach Vance Joseph was asked if 50/50 balls were more like 80/20 balls with Sutton, and coach replied: “It could be”.

“It could be. He’s a big body with great ball skills. He has strong hands, so even when the ball is contested, he can win. Obviously, you see what he can do. Hopefully he’s over 50 percent, that’s going to be huge for us, especially in the red zone.”

Sutton has been proving day in and day out that this could be obtainable for the big rookie who is carving out a role for himself. Fellow rookie wide receiver DaeSean Hamilton is being impressive as well so we will likely see these two play two different roles during the season. Sutton’s role in this potential scenario is obvious, he is the big red zone threat. Keenum can toss it up to him where he can only get it and come away with the touchdown.

Sutton has a very large catch radius and this trait is why Vance Joseph believes that Sutton being called “raw” by people is being overstated a bit.

“I think that’s overstated when you’re talking about a big body like Courtland and his catch radius. There are not very many big guys who are great route runners, but they are great receivers because of their body. So, that’s Courtland’s deal. Obviously, he’s going to improve route running—all young guys do—but until he does, his body and catch radius is going to win for him. That’s not a concern for us, that’s overstated.”

I get that it is early into Training Camp and we haven’t even played one preseason game yet, but the start Courtland Sutton is having is hard not to get excited about. His emergence will get him on the field more, help get the attention of veterans Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, as well as help the team in the red zone which is a place they struggled in the past few seasons.