Despite the Denver Broncos’ defensive struggles against the Cleveland Browns on Monday Night Football, they are still one of the NFL’s most elite units. Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph has done a masterful job in Denver since the fateful 70-20 loss against the Miami Dolphins in 2023. But there is a key to Joseph’s success, and that is none other than superstar Patrick Surtain.
Since being selected ninth in the 2021 NFL Draft, Surtain has garnered a reputation as the league’s top corner among his peers and the media. In an interview with Colin Cowherd, Joe Burrow said Surtain was the best corner in football. Future Hall of Famer Davante Adams listed the three corners that caused him the most problems: Richard Sherman, Aqib Talib, and Patrick Surtain, on “The Rush with Maxx Crosby.”
In an ESPN straw poll, Surtain received over half the votes for best cornerback in the NFL. In other words, it’s no secret how good of a player Surtain has been. So, what has made his 2024 season so special? The trust Vance Joseph is placing in Surtain leads to elite results.
Patrick Surtain’s Numbers
The Denver Broncos have been a very blitz-happy defense. They rank fifth in blitz per dropback at 29.5% and lead the league in total sacks at 47. When teams do this, they typically tend to leave their corners in man-to-man coverage across the board. And with Surtain’s talent, Joseph normally has him follow the opposing team’s top receiver, as Surtain is fourth in the NFL with a 55.3% shadow rate.
Joseph’s scheme heavily relies on Surtain, who essentially takes away half the field for opposing quarterbacks. In his 447 coverage snaps this year, he’s only allowed 42 targets, which ranks third among all corners at a 9.4% target rate.
Even more impressively, against opposing teams, top target Surtain has allowed 15 catches for 148 yards in 13 games, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. Here are the stats for some of the elite receivers Surtain matched up against DK Metcalf 3 catches for 29 yards, Mike Evans 2 catches for 19 yards, George Pickens 2 catches for 29 yards, Drake London 3 catches for 61 yards, and Garrett Wilson 5 catches for 41 yards.
Surtain wasn’t in coverage every snap against these guys, but there’s a common trend that these Pro Bowl-level receivers struggle when facing Denver’s defense and, more importantly, Surtain.
Debunking the Criticism
The biggest criticism towards Denver’s superstar corner comes in a few games this season. The first is in Denver’s 41-10 blow loss to Baltimore. In that game, the Raven’s top receiver, Zay Flowers, recorded five catches for 127 yards and two touchdowns. The biggest misconception there is that Surtain didn’t match up with Flowers. Flowers runs 33.1% of his routes from the slot, one of the highest rates in the league. Surtain almost exclusively lines up outside. Ja’Quan McMillian was the primary defender guarding Flowers.
The next game where Surtain seemed to perform poorly in the box score was Denver’s shootout win over Cleveland. In that game, Jerry Jeudy had a proper revenge game, recording nine catches for 235 yards and a touchdown. Cleveland uniquely used Jeudy, lining him up in the slot and putting him in pre-snap motions. In this unique scenario, in was hard to have Surtain shadow Jeudy all game, which resulted in Cleveland finding favorable matchups with Jeudy being defended by Levi Wallace. Wallace had a poor game against Jeudy, but when Surtain was the primary defender guarding Jeudy, he allowed two catches for 20 yards on three targets.
Former pro and college teammates Jerry Jeudy and Patrick Surtain II lined up against each other on 34 of 57 routes.
Surtain allowed 2 receptions for 20 yards (3 targets) vs Jeudy while the rest of the team allowed 7 receptions for 215 yards (10 targets).
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— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) December 3, 2024
Surtain’s Ultimate Value
In an offensive-minded league, it is tough to quantify how good a cornerback really is. At the end of the day, the less you hear about a corner, the better they are. But Surtain has arguably been the most valuable defensive player in 2024 on a top-five defense. On top of his insane coverage ability, Surtain has zero missed tackles, allows the seventh-lowest quarterback rating when thrown at, and has scored as many touchdowns as he has allowed.
Surtain just grabbed November’s AFC Defensive Player of the Month award. Throughout November, Surtain only allowed nine catches for 55 receiving yards. Surtain also had two pass deflections and didn’t allow a single catch go for over nine yards.
Only six cornerbacks have ever taken home the Defensive Player of the Year award, the latest being Stephon Gilmore in 2019. Surtain has a pure corner and has had a better season than Gilmore’s 2019 season, but the biggest difference was Gilmore came down with six interceptions and two touchdowns that season, while Surtain just has three. He will likely need some big takeaways in the last month of the season to get voters to recognize the season he’s having.
Best in the league. 🔒⬇️ 🎮
RT to congratulate @PatSurtainll on being named AFC Defensive Player of the Month!
📰 » https://t.co/fzBO2AsBTz pic.twitter.com/GYYczKEnVx
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) December 5, 2024
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