Getty A Pro Bowl wide receiver has been named a good trade fit for the New England Patriots.
Failing to sign DeAndre Hopkins doesn’t have to be the end of the New England Patriots finding help at wide receiver. Especially when the Pats could trade for a former second-round pick who was a Pro Bowler in 2019.
Courtland Sutton’s status with the Denver Broncos “could change before Week 1 of the regular season,” according to Bleacher Report’s Maurice Moton. He believes the Patriots “may be willing to pay a high price for another starting-caliber receiver” after seeing Hopkins join the Tennessee Titans.
Sutton hasn’t always lived up to the billing in Denver, but he has the potential to be the big-play threat on the outside New England’s passing game needs. Patriots’ quarterback Mac Jones has no shortage of possession-style and slot-based receivers, pass-catchers like veteran JuJu Smith-Schuster and rookie Demario Douglas, but Sutton could add something different.
That’s provided Pats’ head coach Bill Belichick is prepared to pay a fairly hefty asking price.
Pro Bowler is Deep Threat Patriots Need
Sutton’s 14.6 yards per reception career average is ample proof of his ability to attack defenses vertically. The 27-year-old averaged 13 yards a grab last season, including a 51-yarder against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 5.
This illustration from Next Gen Stats shows how Sutton (14) made the catch in traffic.
Russell Wilson & Courtland Sutton (51-yd reception)
🔹 Air Distance: 52.4 yards
🔹 Target Separation: 0.5 yards
🔹 Completion Probability: 14.9%*
*Wilson (since 2016): 53 completions under 25% completion probability, 24 more than any other QB
The Broncos had no problem going long to Sutton during 2022, when he had 25 deep targets, per Player Profiler.
Targeting Sutton deep paid off early in the season, when he established an early lead for catches of 15-plus yards, according to PFF DEN Broncos.
Courtland Sutton this season:
🔵 19 catches
🟠 291 yards (5th)
🔵 14 first downs (5th)
🟠 5 contested catches (3rd)
🔵 8 catches of 15+ yards (1st)
🟠 2.51 yards per route run
Those numbers contrast with Jones completing just 39.1 percent of his deep-ball throws last season. Jones has shown some aptitude for taking the top off of defenses, but he needs more targets fit for purpose.
Sutton qualifies, so he’s worth the Patriots sacrificing some premium draft capital.
Expensive Trade Worth the Risk for Patriots
Moton referenced how Mike Klis of 9News reported back in March the Broncos asked for second-round compensation in return for dealing Sutton. It’s a significant asking price, but the Patriots should consider paying it to answer the lingering question marks about their talent at receiver.
Those questions would have been satisfied by welcoming Hopkins into the fold. Yet, the Patriots didn’t get close to what the Titans offered the five-time Pro Bowler.
Doing things on the cheap led the Patriots to bolster their most obvious position of weakness with only modest moves. Those include the three-year deal handed to Smith-Schuster in free agency, as well as using a pair of sixth-round picks in the 2023 NFL draft to select Douglas and fellow wideout Kayshon Boutte.
The result of so many half measures is a passing game that was pedestrian at best in 2022 looks largely the same. It’s a risk given how a one-dimensional offense was the main reason the Patriots missed the playoffs last season.
Adding a legitimate field-stretcher on the perimeter like Sutton would go a long way toward expanding the Jones-led passing game. If the air attack can carry the load alongside the running of workhorse Rhamondre Stevenson, the Patriots’ failure to land Hopkins will soon be forgotten.
Combined with a defense boasting the potential to dominate, fielding a more balanced offense is the only way the Pats can confound expectations within a suddenly loaded AFC East.