On Thursday night, the Denver Broncos surprised many fans by passing on two highly-rated quarterbacks to draft Alabama cornerback Patrick Surtain II at pick No. 9. The player? Not so surprised.
“I wasn’t surprised by it,” Surtain said via Zoom call just minutes after Denver drafted him. “I’m just excited and ready to go up there and compete.”
At 6-foot-2 and 208 pounds, Surtain brings length and physicality to the Broncos’ secondary. Relishing the opportunity to join forces with the likes of NFL defensive stars like Von Miller, Justin Simmons, Bradley Chubb, Kyle Fuller, Kareem Jackson, and the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year wasted little time making a bold prediction.
“It’s a very stacked defense. I can’t wait to compete with those guys at a high level each and every day,” Surtain said. “I’m very excited and I think when it’s all said and done, we are going to be the No. 1 defense in the NFL.”
A little hyperbole never hurt anyone. Besides, fans should be encouraged and excited to see a brand-new rookie attack his first NFL presser with such confidence and aplomb.
Surtain enters a now relatively stacked cornerback depth chart with the aforementioned Fuller, newly-signed Ronald Darby, Bryce Callahan, and 2020 third-round pick Michael Ojemudia stacked at the top. Throw in nickel ace Essang Bassey and even the likes of late-season addition Parnell Motley, and what not so long ago was a corner depth chart facing an alarming dearth of talent is now one to be feared.
Surtain will have to sing for his supper with so many veterans log-jammed atop the depth chart. But his time will come.
The Broncos did well to shield their interest in Surtain pre-draft. Although Denver did meet with Surtain, there was zero buzz that he’d land with the Broncos.
“I had some communication with the Broncos. It wasn’t a lot of communication, but it was some communication through some parts,” Surtain revealed. “When I got off the phone with the Broncos, the coaches were very excited to have me up there. They talked about how I could fit a key piece and a key role in their scheme.”
Undoubtedly, Surtain is a Bronco because Vic Fangio wanted him. In a make-or-break year, Fangio is now loaded for bear at cornerback on the heels of a season in which the injury bug literally decimated the position group.
It’d take a virulent pestilence of epic proportions to put a dent in this group. Surtain has always been a reliable player health-wise, and hails from the uber-competitive SEC in which he faced off against some of the best wideouts in the nation in multiple big-game situations. To say nothing of the slew of ex-teammates who’ve gone pro as NFL first-rounders, including Denver’s Jerry Jeudy.
“I have been talking to ‘Ju’ for a minute. We haven’t been talking about joining the same team, but it’s kind of crazy the way that things all circle around together,” Surtain said.
“Going against SEC receivers and Alabama receivers like ‘Smitty’ (Eagles WR Devonta Smith) and [Dolphins WR Jaylen] Waddle helped me prepare for this moment every day and for the next level,” Surtain said.
Although Surtain wasn’t the first cornerback drafted — that distinction went to South Carolina’s Jaycee Horn at pick 8 to Carolina — the former Crimson Tide star is grateful to land in Denver and is ready to give the Broncos his all.
“I can only control what I can control,” Surtain said. “Teams pick whoever they want to pick. At the end of the day, I feel like I’m going to be ready to compete and play. I’m going to give Broncos [Country] everything that I’ve got.”
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