Here's Why ESPN Says Patrick Surtain II Could Earn DPoY Honors

Defensive Player of the Year? It could happen for Patrick Surtain II.

For the disgruntled Denver Broncos fans that haven’t checked out on the 2022 season, it’s hard to find a silver lining from a boring 3-6 football team. After losing to the Tennessee Titans last week, the Broncos host the 2-7 Las Vegas Raiders in Denver on Sunday in what is being billed as a ‘termination game’ for the losing head coach.

If it feels like you've been here before, Broncos Country, it's because you have, literally. The failed head-coaching regimes of Vance Joseph and Vic Fangio both started 3-6. Joseph received his walking papers after his second year as head coach, while Fangio got three seasons, leaving many fans restless about the future of Nathaniel Hackett.

But for as bad as the Broncos are offensively, cornerback Patrick Surtain II has led a Denver defense that is ranked first in fewest points allowed. The second-year defensive back from Alabama has been all that he was advertised to be when GM George Paton selected him with the ninth overall pick in 2021.

According to Pro Football Focus, since Week 6, Surtain has surrendered just four receptions for just 18 yards in coverage. The 6-foot-2, 202-pound corner has started all nine games for coordinator Ejiro Evero’s elite defense, logging 33 tackles (24 solo), one tackle for a loss, one forced fumble, and six pass breakups. Surtain has yet to surrender a touchdown in coverage all season.

Last week, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell named Surtain as a top-three candidate for Defensive Player of the Year. The other two candidates include Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons — Surtain's 2021 draft classmate — and San Francisco 49ers edge rusher Nick Bosa.

“With apologies to Gardner and Jalen Ramsey, no cornerback is playing better right now than the second-year superstar in Denver,” Barnwell wrote. “Teams don't like targeting Surtain, and when they do, they don't get much.”

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Detractors will quickly point to Surtain’s lack of takeaways, as he is yet to log an interception and has one forced fumble. However, opposing quarterbacks aren’t throwing at No. 2, let alone his side of the field. ‘PS2’ is currently allowing seven yards per reception and has only been targeted 44 times this season, playing 94% of the Broncos' defensive snaps.

For the second time this season, Surtain will matchup with Raiders wideout Davante Adams, who is tied with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce for the NFL’s most receiving scores (eight). Las Vegas is on a three-game losing streak following an embarrassing 25-20 loss at the hands of the Jeff Saturday-led Indianapolis Colts, although Adams caught nine receptions for 126 yards and a touchdown.

In the Week 4 meeting between the Broncos and Raiders in Las Vegas, Surtain covered Adams on 71% of his routes, limiting the first-team All-Pro to four catches for 46 yards, despite losing the game 32-23. The Raiders are in last place in the AFC West but have won nine out of the last 10 games against the Broncos and are currently on a six-game winning streak against Denver.

As a rookie in 2021, Surtain landed on the 2021 NFL All-Rookie Team and was named the Week 12 AFC Defensive Player of the Week. It'll be interesting to see how Year 2 ultimately plays out for Denver's shutdown corner. 

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