Courtland Sutton wants to represent the Broncos on the NFL’s “All-Pro” team. He’s counting on Russell Wilson, Nathaniel Hackett, a little health and a lot of wins to get there.

Courtland Sutton prefers to keep her personal goals personal. Karma doesn’t bark in the NFL, but he bites like a tiger shark.

“I don’t really like sharing them,” laughed the Broncos. “I’m not superstitious. But as Michael Scott (from the TV show “The Office”) would say, I’m a little-stitious.

But the big No. 14 gives you one anyway. A teaser.

“At the end of the day, the Pro Bowl is nice, but I’m trying to become an All-Pro,” Sutton told me after the Broncos’ practice ended Saturday at the UCHealth training facility. “(It’s) obviously where I really want to be.

“That’s ultimately where I’m trying to get to. The Pro Bowl is fun. As we know, this is a fan affair. I try to reach for something higher.

Sutton, 26, was named to the AFC Pro Bowl team replacing DeAndre Hopkins after a 2019 regular season that saw the lanky, 6-foot-4 Texan rack up 1,112 receiving yards and six touchdowns, and forming what seemed like a telepathic relationship with quarterback Drew Lock.

As far as Lock goes, it ended up being fool’s gold. For Sutton, meanwhile, it could have been the best and worst thing for his young career. It’s not that raising the bar was the problem. It’s just that a devastating knee injury and inconsistency have made the damn thing harder to achieve ever since.

“My body probably wasn’t in the same place as me right now,” Sutton said of a 2021 season, his first since knee surgery in 2020, which saw him catch 58 balls for 776 yards. .

“My body (this summer) is in a great place. Mentally I’m in a great place. And I’m just ready to come out and show what I can do with the guys (that we have) here and ( we) believe in. I can’t wait to be there.

And I look forward to living with Russell Wilson, whose quarterbacking inclinations, on paper, play directly into Sutton’s strengths.

Sumptuous deep balls? Check. Ability to extend the time in the pocket with his feet? Check. Do you like big targets? Check. Common sense to turn “free games”, once the yellow flags fly, into big wins all the way to the border? Check.

“I love it,” Sutton said of his new everything – new coach, new offensive coordinator, new system, new signalman. ” It’s a new start. We have a quarterback we’ve been waiting for. We have a great coaching staff who believe in us and give us the opportunity to play and have fun. It’s exciting.”

The splint is gone, which is even better. But whenever Sutton needs a dose of humility, he can look at the scars on his left knee, memories of a detour he would rather not repeat. A reminder of the ACL tear sustained in Week 2 of the 2020 campaign in Pittsburgh.

“There is always room for improvement,” Sutton replied. “It’s a question of growth. ‘How can I improve?’ not a finger pointing situation. What could I have done a little better to make the (end result) different? »

According to Spotrac.com, Sutton’s cap of $5.3 million for 2022 ranks 34th among NFL wides, making him a bargain over the Raiders’ Davante Adams ($8.17 million). dollars) and the Chargers duo of Keenan Allen ($19.2 million) and Mike. Williams ($14.0 million).

When the Broncos last November locked up Sutton (four years, $60.8 million) and his running mate Tim Patrick (three years, $34 million) for contract extensions, he walked off the track a winner- winning all around. On the face of it, it’s the kind of gamble that gave two key contributors some financial security and chief executive George Paton some flexibility along the way.

But after a strong start to the return season, Sutton’s stats plummeted in the weeks immediately following his contract announcement. After averaging 4.3 receptions for 61.7 receiving yards in his first 10 games last fall, the receiver has dropped to 2.1 catches and 22.7 yards per game in his last seven appearances. The Broncos went 2-5 in those games, and you know the rest of the story.

“That’s part of the game is always a blessing, to be able to get to this point,” Sutton noted. “But I wouldn’t say that Tim and I put pressure on each other. On the contrary, it is rather a standard that we set for ourselves, that we will not allow ourselves to be complacent just because we were able to obtain this beautiful contract. If anything, it’s, ‘OK, it’s time to up our game even more.’ »

With Wilson, he will have this chance and a quarterback who already knows the drill. From 2015 to 2020, a Seattle wide who worked with Big Russ was named a first- or second-team All-Pro four times — Tyler Lockett was on the special teams selection three times while DK Metcalf was selected by the Associated Press. second team offense of 2020.

“I want to achieve that All-Pro (recognition) and like you said, it works hand in hand,” Sutton said. “If I’m at that level, there will be other receivers (on our roster) at that level. Russ will be at that level. The defense is probably going to play at that level.

“Whether everything of us lock in to that level of commitment and that level of dedication, nothing will stop us from playing (the Super Bowl) in Arizona in February.