ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Denver Broncos didn’t need a cornerback in the NFL Draft for the 2021 season. Heck, George Paton even admitted that.
But when Patrick Surtain II out of Alabama was staring at them when they were on the clock at No. 9, he was just too good to pass up on.
However, with three veteran corners all with at least five years of experience and each making over $7 million on the roster already, there’s certainly not a gaping hole for Surtain to just slide into a starting job. But there is a way for him to see the field despite being the rookie of the group.
During rookie minicamp, minutes before Surtain took the field for his first practice as a Bronco, Vic Fangio laid out the path for the rookie to see the field early in his NFL career despite being in a stacked cornerback room.
They key for Surtain will be versatility.
“As you guys have heard me say many times, there is five and six DBs on the field a lot in the NFL. We’re no different than many of the other teams. If he’s capable of having positional flexibility, that helps us get our so-called best players on the field at the same time,” Fangio stated.
Despite being primarily a shutdown corner on the outside during his time at Alabama, Surtain will play inside, at least at times, with the Broncos in 2021.
“He’s definitely a guy we want to teach the inside position to sometime quickly,” Fangio stated. “We need corners that can play inside. He has experience doing that in college. I think he’s probably capable of it. We won’t know until we put him in there.”
Within the hour of his head coach stating this, the rookie detailed how he was already exceeding Fangio’s expectations.
“I’m trying to learn the whole defense right now,” Surtain said, setting an ambitious goal for a rookie. “I’m trying to see what the safeties do, and what the nickels and corners do, so when I’m on the field, I’m confident and I’ll know everybody’s roles. If I were to be put in that position, I would be very comfortable. I’m doing that right now.”
Typically, grasping one position while transitioning to the NFL is plenty to put on a rookies plate. Fangio added a hefty side to that plate by adding another role for him to grasp. Then, Surtain took it to another level by putting the entire defense on his plate.
As Fangio once said, Surtain’s loading up “all the meatballs and the pasta” on his plate.
So far, the 21-year old hasn’t had any issue picking up the playbook.
“It’s not that much different,” Surtain said about Fangio’s defensive playbook compared to Nick Saban’s at Alabama. “The only difference is the terminology. We had different terms in college than what we have here right now. I’m getting the hang of it and working every day to perfect the playbook. It’s nothing too complex because I’m used to it. It’s just different terminology, really.”
The rook isn’t backing down from lofty expectations for his first year in the NFL. In fact, he’s upping the ante. But if anyone can do that, and live up to it, odds would favor the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year, unanimous All-American, national champion and top-10 pick.
