Denver Broncos star defensive back Pat Surtain II capped off a huge season for himself by being chosen as the NFL Defensive Player of the year Thursday night at the annual NFL Honors awards show.
Surtain beat out T.J. Watt (Steelers), Myles Garrett (Browns), Zack Baun (Eagles) and Trey Hendrickson (Bengals) to claim the award as the league’s best defensive player of the season. There are some who may feel that Surtain wasn’t as impactful as one of the league’s top sack artists in Garrett, Watt or even Hendrickson, but those would probably be the people who focus solely on statistics.
What Surtain does best won’t show up in the box score.
However, he is the league’s top shutdown cornerback and as a result, opposing teams tend to shy away from throwing the football in his direction. You don’t hear his name called often during games but for a cornerback, that’s what you want.
For the season, Surtain had 45 tackles, four interceptions, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. He also had this unforgettable and perhaps, season-changing play against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Pat Surtain II showing why he is one of the best Corners in the NFL and why Davante Adams is leaving the Raiders at the same time. pic.twitter.com/vRIxn6xsuE
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) October 6, 2024
Pat Surtain becomes second Broncos player to win DPOY
The Broncos have had some tremendous defensive players in their history. Steve Atwater and Champ Bailey are both in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Von Miller will join them someday.
But the only Broncos player to ever be awarded Defensive Player of the Year was all the way back in 1978 when Randy Gradishar, recently elected to the Hall of Fame, accomplished the feat.
The BEST corner in the league 👏
Pat Surtain II is the Defensive Player of the Year 💥#NFL | #BroncosCountry pic.twitter.com/npuJm3vhmZ
— FanDuel (@FanDuel) February 7, 2025
Surtain becomes the first cornerback to win the award since Stephon Gilmore with the New England Patriots in 2019 and he is just the seventh cornerback to win the award in history.
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