Broncos Top Corner Leads Off Top 10 Of NFL's Top 100 List

The Denver Broncos have been waiting for a while for cornerback Pat Surtain II to show up in the top tier of the NFL’s annual Top 100 list, and the latest release had Surtain landing at No. 10, according to a writeup for Brooke Cersosimo of NFL.com. 

Surtain was a “cornerstone in Denver’s top three defense in both scoring and overall performance, per the writer, and he allowed just one touchdown on 63 targets and 572 coverage snaps, she added. 

Moreover, pass catchers averaged just 2.1 yards of separation versus Surtain, which was second lowest in the league behind only cornerback Quinyon Mitchell of the Philadelphia Eagles, Cerosino added in her NFL Pro Insight stat. 

But Surtain is one of those players who earns praise from everywhere, including fellow cornerback Tre’Davious White and New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, according to a report from Parker Gabriel of the Denver Post. 

“Pat is the guy, man,” White said. “He can do it from press, he can do it from off. He can follow your best guy in the slot. He’s real tight on you. You’re not going to get any YAC on him.

“If you want to put him in the backfield, he’ll line up at linebacker and do that, too.”

The Broncos cornerback was the Defensive Player of the Year back in 2024, and the only thing that kept him from contending for that award again was a torn pectoral muscle that took him out for 3.5 games. 

The praise from McDaniels came after the AFC Championship, when the offensive coordinator sought out Surtain after the Patriots’ 10-7 win. 

“You’re the best one in the league, alright?” McDaniels said. “I’ve seen them all and I’m just telling you. You’re the best one.”

Surtain’s prowess as a cover corner has reached the point where he’s rarely targeted, and he prides himself on eliminating the other team’s best receiver.

“You get the ultimate respect when you eliminate people and don’t even hear ’em,” Surtain said in the video. “It’s not going to be put on the stat sheet, people may not hear about it, but I’m just doing my job and locking my side down.”

Broncos defensive tackle Zach Allen is a fellow member of the Top 100 list at No. 73, and he, too, offered his take on the way in which Surtain is a difference maker. 

“When you have the best DB in the game in the past decade or two decades, it makes everybody else’s job easier,” Allen said. “Because we know we can just roll the coverage away from Pat.”