Broncos' CB Pat Surtain II Lacks 'Flash & Pizzazz,' per NFL.com

Just like all great football technicians, reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Patrick Surtain II is increasingly being labeled as a ruthless but silent assassin. Operating with stealth-like efficiency is very much who Surtain is, both on and off the field, and who's to argue with the results thus far?

Enter NFL.com's Bucky Brooks, who listed the Denver Broncos' superstar cornerback third on his rundown of the top 10 NFL defenders to build around in 2025, while oddly claiming that Surtain is lacking in one particular area of his game. 

"The reigning Defensive Player of the Year is a polished technician who leans on an expansive toolbox to blanket receivers utilizing various methods," Brooks wrote. "As the game's premier shutdown corner, Patrick Surtain II eliminates half of the field for defensive coordinator Vance Joseph; he also enables the ultra-aggressive Broncos play-caller to concoct exotic pressure schemes to keep opposing quarterbacks on the run. Though he lacks the flash and pizzazz of some of his counterparts, the fifth-year pro is a rock-solid corner worthy of a spot on this list."

Ranked in the third spot, elite edge rushers surround the Broncos' shutdown corner, and we see how the gold-standard currency of quarterback sacks still holds sway in the NFL. Even so, Brooks' assessment of what Surtain brings to the Broncos defense is accurate, even if it does sell him short, because his imperious coverage skills allow the defense's all-out attack on opposing quarterbacks to commence in the first place.

The golden opportunity for the Broncos to add to the league-leading 63 sacks they compiled last year could be in the cards for the retooled defense. Given the key free-agent additions of dynamic playmakers like linebacker Dre Greenlaw and safety Talanoa Hufanga, it's safe to assume that the Surtain effect might get put on steroids in 2025. 

Ultimately, finding alternative ways to get Surtain around the ball more often has been the ongoing conundrum for Joseph, with opposing quarterbacks wisely looking away from him in coverage. However, the embarrassment of defensive riches now at hand in Denver might make it much more possible to get the ball in Surtain's hands; it could even be the atomic bomb the Broncos drop on opponents moving forward. 

Perhaps where Brooks slips up in his critique is by failing to reference plays like Surtain's 100-yard interception return for a touchdown against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 5. With the benefit of hindsight, it was the key defensive play of the Broncos' 2024 campaign — a record-breaking pick-six that set the tone for snapping the team's long-running playoff drought. 

Just how quickly fellow cornerback Riley Moss has emerged opposite Surtain might also change the landscape. Having as many viable cornerbacks as possible is the hallmark of a smart NFL general manager. 

We could be in the territory of the Broncos' rivals having no choice but to pick their poison, and that's extremely rare at the NFL level. So for all of Surtain's lauded efficiency, the big momentum-changing plays are always near at hand, but only if opposing quarterbacks dare to challenge him on the outside with any frequency.