Denver Broncos wide receiver was elected a team captain by his teammates last week, and judging from his leadership style, it’s easy to see why.
Sutton doesn’t berate his teammates for making mistakes. Instead, he encourages them to bounce back, and that mentally has been well-received.
“My leadership style comes from how I feel like I like to be led,” Sutton said on Sept. 6. “I try to bring that with me. If guys have a bad play or something, you can see them being in their own head. [I’ll] just pull them to the side and say, ‘Hey look, you got this. We’ve seen you do this a thousand times. Just go out there and do what you do best.’ I feel like it can help clear up guys’ mental space. That’s where a lot of the game is—it’s played mentally. If you make a bad play and you’re not able to one snap, clear it and move onto the next one, then that play can beat you again.
“It doesn’t take someone to go over there and yell at them, ‘Hey, you shouldn’t have done that!’ They know they shouldn’t have done that. They know what they need to do. Go encourage them and move onto the next play. I feel like you’ll be able to see more success from that [rather] than going at them, yelling at them, and berating them in front of everybody.”
Sutton has also said that he aims to lead primarily by example, setting a standard that other players can follow.
Entering his fifth season in the NFL, Sutton will aim to emerge as a key player and leader for the Broncos both on and off the field in 2022.
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