Pat Surtain II sets a lofty goal for the 2022 Denver Broncos

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Outside of potentially Russell Wilson, no player on the Denver Broncos is more accustomed to championship standards than Pat Surtain II.

When the five-star recruit joined the University of Alabama in 2018, Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide had nearly as many national championship seasons (five) as non-championship seasons (six) since Saban took over the program in 2007.

In two of his three seasons in Tuscaloosa, Surtain went to the championship game. In his second appearance, in 2020, he walked away a National Champ.

Coming to the NFL, all Surtain knew was championship or bust.

After a one-year hiatus as a rookie in Denver, Surtain knows championship standards are back in his life.

“We set our minds on the season ahead just completing that big-time goal. The main goal is getting to the big stage, which is the Super Bowl,” the former No. 9-overall pick stated on Tuesday. “We’re preparing to get to that point in the offseason and it starts right now.”

The Broncos’ standards have drastically increased, from shooting to be competitive in November and December just last year to making the Super Bowl this season. Surtain, however, didn’t go as far as to say win the whole thing in 2022.

Denver’s Super Bowl aspirations got a legitimate boost the moment they acquired Russell Wilson on Mar. 8.

“Ohhh S***, we got Russell,” Dre’Mont Jones said, recalling the moment he found out about the blockbuster deal. “Then they said, they traded for Russ and some players and everybody was like, ‘Oh, who are the players?’”

After finding out his fellow defensive lineman Shelby Harris was included in the deal, but not him, the fourth-year defensive lineman was relieved.

“It was cool realizing I was still here and Russ being here too,” Jones said on Tuesday, as the team kicked off their second week of the offseason training program. “I can just tell the energy has been totally different in this building from him and Coach Hackett.”

In just over a month in Denver, Wilson and Hackett have revived the atmosphere and culture at the UCHealth Training Center that has previously had Super-Bowl-or-bust standards.

“You can tell the energy has been different. The culture has been different,” Surtain stated. “I could just feel the team’s energy, the focus and the shift toward the season and just focusing on getting to that big game. You can just feel it around the building.”

During the start of the team’s offseason workout program, offensive and defensive players have admitted the stakes and expectations are now the biggest they’ve been since Peyton Manning was in the building in 2015. But the expectations aren’t just raised for the offensive side, led by Wilson and Hackett.

“Defense going to fly around and make big-time plays,” Surtain added. “I’m very excited for this upcoming season… It should be a very exciting year.”

Pat Surtain knows championship standards as well as anyone. He sees the 2022 Denver Broncos as being right in that mix.