Cleveland Browns draft profile: SMU wide receiver Courtland Sutton
The Cleveland Browns need a game-breaking wide receiver to truly transform their offense in 2018. He may need a bit of work, but SMU’s Courtland Sutton could be the answer for such a need.
The Cleveland Browns receiving corps was woefully bad during 2017. Even with the return of Josh Gordon, Cleveland could not seem to get it together as their wide receivers struggled throughout the entire year.
Of course, this made Cleveland’s already rough-at-best quarterback play look even worse. With no one to throw to, DeShone Kizer was fed to the wolves and left to fend for himself behind the Browns’ offensive line.
With Jarvis Landry now in the fold, the Browns have already made a considerable improvement to their receiving corps. But, one receiver does not mean instant success. Corey Coleman seems to be injury-prone, and who knows if Gordon will ever be the same again?
Needless to say, the Browns need to draft a receiver to complement Landry and Gordon. Should they choose to go this route, they should absolutely be keeping an eye on SMU’s monstrous main target, Courtland Sutton.
Athleticism:
Courtland Sutton’s biggest attribute is his scary size, speed, and athleticism combination. Much like current Brown, Josh Gordon, Sutton is an athletic freak for his size. At 6-foot-3, 218-pounds, and running a 4.54 40-yard dash, Sutton is an athlete unlike any other in his class.
One of Sutton’s best games came during a 54-32 win over North Texas. Throughout the game, Sutton collected a dominating eight receptions for 163 yards and four touchdowns. He made some amazingly athletic plays, and showed off just how fast he could be.
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Sutton showed ability to jump over guys, make tough catches, and get away from defenders. Even with quarterback play that was less than ideal, Sutton made the most of it and finished with over 1,000 receiving yards.
However, with all his physical talent, there is still some work to be done on Courtland Sutton. No prospect is perfect, and Sutton’s biggest weakness seems to be his inconsistency.
Inconsistency:
As Bret Michaels from Poison would say, “every rose has its thorn.” For Courtland Sutton, that thorn happens to be the inconsistency of his game. Sometimes, he looks like a world-beater, and other times it looks like he’s never seen a football field.
Whereas he fully showcased his abilities against North Texas, he was completely stifled when facing TCU.
One reception, zero yards, zero touchdowns. No sugarcoating it, Sutton looked horrible against the Horned Frogs. Against the higher levels of competition, Sutton couldn’t get it done.
However, if someone can iron those inconsistencies out of him, and work on the fundamentals with his game, Sutton can be an NFL superstar. He has the tools and the game to skyrocket him to the next level. He just has to work on the fundamentals and nuances of it all.
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Should the Browns take Sutton, wide receiver coach Adam Henry will have his fundamentals work cut out for him. But, with the body of work and incredible talent Sutton possesses, fixing anything else shouldn’t be too hard.