Broncos Film Room: How Patrick Surtain II's game against Ja'Marr Chase illuminates his NFL ceiling

The dust has settled on the offseason and while moves at right tackle and quarterback still linger in the shadows, the vast majority of roster moves have already been made.  So, we’re going back, reviewing the tape, and looking at how Denver’s latest additions will contribute, starting with the NFL Draft.

The 2021 class was significant with nine selections made by the Denver Broncos and with that in mind, we begin things with the 9th overall selection, Patrick Surtain II.

Strengths

Some prospects emerge later in the process, others you know are high-end NFL talents from the moment they step onto a college field. Pat Surtain II is the latter, instantly making an impact and standing out for his natural tools, even on a defense stacked with future pro players.

Beyond his precocious start at one of the premier programs in the country, under the most demanding secondary coach in the land, Surtain II had a highly consistent three-year career at Alabama, establishing himself as the best corner in the nation.

Given his traits, experience, and advanced understanding of the position, he’s a rare prospect who promises to be an immediate contributor at the NFL level.

Let’s backtrack for a second, though, and get into those traits. Surtain II is the son of a three-time Pro Bowler and plays with the polish to match, but the reason he went top 10 and had the Broncos so excited that they turned down heavy overtures from teams trying to trade up, is Surtain’s god-given talents.

Alabama’s No. 2 scored a 9.96 RAS (Relative Athletic Score), putting him as the eighth highest-scoring cornerback in the 34-year history of the metric. What’s more, that’s eighth-best out of 1,784 cornerbacks in the database. With elite length, measuring in at 6-foot-2, a 39-inch vertical, and running a 4.42 40-yard dash, it’s easy to see what an impressive athlete he truly is, and the metrics back it up. Athletes like that simply don’t come around very often, especially at premium positions.

In an alternate world where Surtain doesn’t move flawlessly in coverage and mirror routes with a fluidity that’s rare to find, especially in a big corner, he could easily have played safety and has the attitude for the role as well. But we’ll get into some potential more creative uses of Surtain’s talents in a second.

There’s a lot to like about Surtain and we’ve really only begun to scratch the surface, because honestly, what stands out the most is how polished he plays for a 21-year-old.  He already plays like a veteran — Surtain’s ability to dictate leverage is unnatural for a 21-year-old. This is due to a combination of being very effective in press coverage, consistently jamming wideouts and dictating where they go. Plus, his IQ, knowing where receivers are going before they do.

Due to his tremendous instincts and technique, Surtain is never out of position and always keeps receivers on his hip. He uses his help well and knows where the cavalry will be coming. He’s also very sound against fakes at the line and double moves. With such tremendous speed and length, Surtain has the rare ability to make up for any cushion that a receiver might create. So, he doesn’t have to overreact, and he knows it.

He’s big, physical, and can run with anyone. Just put on the tape and you’ll see him run stride for stride with current NFL players, current top-5 picks and future first-rounders. Not to mention, he had to battle against four top-half of the first-round receivers in his time in Tuscaloosa, AL.

As athletic as he is, Surtain has shown himself to be versatile too — though, obviously, playing predominantly outside in man —  he’s flashed great instincts in zone as well, and has some intriguing value covering the slot against tight ends or bigger receivers.

As the cherry on top, Surtain is an incredibly clean tackler, who wants to get involved against the run and can play with an edge. He’s not necessarily going to lay the wood, but he’s a very competent open-field tackler who will seek out contact.

Additionally, he’s just as physical in coverage as he is defending the run, consistently finishing tackles and bringing ball carriers to the ground. But he also stands out for his instincts reading and reacting to plays in front of him and then flying downhill to close on the ball.

Weaknesses

After all that, you’re probably wondering why Surtain wasn’t talked about more highly, or why he wasn’t hyped up like some of the great cornerback prospects in the history of the sport.

The answer is pretty simple, at least in college, Surtain lacked those eye-popping ball in his hand-type plays that helped build the legends of Deion Sanders, Champ Bailey, or Charles Woodson. All those guys had supreme ball skills and even contributed as electric returners —Bailey even had 978 receiving yards in his career at Georgia.

That’s the one knock on the highest ever drafted cornerback of the Nick Saban regime at Alabama — tying Dee Milner — when the ball is in the air, his eye discipline and tracking skills leave something to be desired.

This is partially because Surtain is almost old school in his approach — opting to keep his eyes on his receiver and read their bodies when they go up for a ball, which typically worked out for him at the college level, but not always.

This deficiency shows in Surtain’s ball production as well, recording just four interceptions over three years. 

Even on a successful pass deflection on deep throws, he doesn’t always turn his head to track the ball on time, which could lead to penalties in the pros. To dominate at the next level this will have to change.

To go from great to elite, Surtain must improve his instincts in the one area of his game where he’s most unpolished, in part, because he was so seldomly challenged at Alabama. 

He’s shown ball skills when facing the action and has made plays when trailing on deep bombs. The potential is there, but refinement is required.

The other real question is if he has the fluidity and start-stop speed to keep up with the league’s elite burners like Tyreek Hill and Henry Ruggs.

He’s passed just about every test he’s faced in college as far as raw speed. The AFC West has some absolute game-breakers, though.

The encouraging thing is that even if he can’t hang with the true speedsters in the NFL, the Broncos have Justin Simmons to man the deep middle, while Surtain II can be valuable in other matchups. Regardless, he’ll be able to contribute either way.

As far as pros and cons go, the one real factor holding Surtain II back from becoming great is his ball production. If he is able to create more turnovers in the pros than he did with the Crimson Tide, he has the potential to be a generational-type cornerback. If he doesn’t, that’s okay, because his coverage and tackling skills are strong enough to justify a place in the secondary.

Key matchup

While bursting on the scene from Day 1 at Alabama, the matchup that really solidified Surtain’s high-end draft stock was his performance against Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and the 2019 LSU Tigers — one of the greatest offenses in college football history.

In that game, Surtain was glued to Chase, allowing just two receptions without a single misstep.

The first grab came on a pick play, with Surtain following Chase around the formation and covering him from the slot. LSU’s star wideout was able to gain some room off the pick but Surtain closed the gap pretty quickly to force a really tough throw and catch.

Burrow and his wideout make a tremendous play into double coverage. The corner never got his head turned to challenge the throw,  but he forces the duo into making an elite play to get the reception.

The second grab is on a slant, where Surtain executes his assignment, not letting Chase get over the top of him and keeping him inside. After the catch, he then stays with him stride for stride and guides Chase into a tackle — exactly what you’d want to see.

Surtain covered Cheifs running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire on a handful of empty sets as well.

He covered tight end, Thaddeus Moss, when flexed out and smothered the tight end making him completely ineffective.

He was also flying stride for stride with Chase and Carolina’s second-round pick Terrace Marshall, keeping two of the biggest freaks in the SEC at bay with relative ease.

Alabama might’ve lost that game but Surtain made his presence felt and showed his versatility, cover skills and natural talent against the toughest matchup that any defensive back could’ve faced recently.

Left untapped

We’ve danced around it a bit, but beyond some of the improvements that Surtain can make, there’s some untapped versatility and upside in how a Derwin James-sized cornerback can be utilized in the modern NFL.

With sub-packages becoming the de-facto base defense, how Surtain is utilized as the fourth or fifth defensive back will be very interesting his rookie year; particularly in matchups against the AFC West’s elite tight ends, Travis Kelce and Darren Waller.

A technically sound, physical cornerback like Surtain with the length to match could be a massive weapon in lessening that mismatch for their division rivals. This is something he showed when asked to cover Kyle Pitts, the highest-drafted tight end in NFL history.

As a bigger slot defender, Surtain playing closer to the line of scrimmage presents plenty of intrigue as his instincts and speed added to his sound tackling could make him a true asset both in coverage and as a run defender. 

Coach Vic Fangio has shown he’s willing to utilize the talent he has available to him and with an abundance of defensive backs this season, someone like Surtian could find a key role in handling some of the tougher big targets in the NFL.

Surtain vs. Horn and Fields

The final aspect of the Surtain selection is why he, a betting favorite to be the first cornerback and defender selected in the draft, ended up being the second cornerback picked behind Jaycee Horn, who was taken 8th overall by the Panthers.

The Horn vs. Surtain debate is an interesting one that ultimately boils down to flash vs. substance. Both are big cornerbacks who play with an edge and have NFL bloodlines. They’re also both incredible athletes at their size, with rare raw tools and impressive tape against SEC competition.

Watch Horn’s best game against Auburn and you see him competing for every ball, exactly the one area Surtain struggles in. You’ll also see Horn give up contested grabs, react too slowly in zone coverage, and get flagged for a penalty. Horn is feisty, competitive, but doesn’t have the consistency and technique that make Surtain so special.

Teams might’ve looked at Horn and seen more upside, but considering Surtain is bigger, just as fast, and plays with a more advanced game, the choice by the Panthers was an interesting gamble.

The bigger debate with this pick will, of course, surround Surtain having gone ahead of Justin Fields, who I had ranked three spots ahead on my board. Fields landed in a nice schematic fit in Matt Nagy’s offense in Chicago — a theme we saw tie all the quarterbacks who landed in familiar schemes that would offer the most seamless transition from their collegiate offenses to the pros.

The Broncos couldn’t offer Fields that, though. Committing to building an offense around a young quarterback is key, and it was an added commitment that Denver just wasn’t willing to make. Fields’ talent is absurd but he also regressed towards the end of his final season, struggling to read defenses and looking gun-shy on throws over the middle. 

It’s also clear from the Broncos draft class that the front office thinks this team can compete right away by focusing on adding to the defense and run game.

Passing on a potential franchise signal-caller always comes with great risk, but it seems the Broncos are more focused on competing immediately and trying their best to disrupt the Kansas City Chiefs’ current championship window. Surtain does give them the best chance of doing that in the immediate, only the future will tell us long-term.