The Denver Broncos franchise cornerback was just announced as the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year at the NFL Honors after an insanely productive 2024 campaign. Just how special was his season?

Denver Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II wins NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year award

Denver Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II is a lot of things — a two-time Mile High Sports magazine cover athlete, a 2x NFL First-Team All-Pro, a 3x NFLPA First-Team All-Pro, a two-time NFL Pro Bowl starter, and now he’s taking home one of the most honorable awards a defensive player can get and that’s the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year award. On top of that, he also earned a market-resetting contract extension in the season.

Surtain is the first NFL cornerback to win the award since Stephon Gilmore did back in 2019. He becomes the seventh cornerback in NFL history to win the award, joining the likes of Mel Blount (1975), Lester Hayes (1980), Rod Woodson (1993), Deion Sanders (1994), Charles Woodson (2009), and Gilmore in 2019.

He’s the second Broncos player in franchise history to win the award, behind Hall of Famer Randy Gradishar. This type of award is an accelerator to help cement Surtain’s status as a future Hall of Famer.

In today’s NFL, the idea of a shutdown cornerback is hard to envision, considering all of the rules and limitations placed on defenses in favor of offensive production. Surtain in 2024 followed around some of the NFL’s best receivers and limited their production.

Against the likes of five pass catchers who were named to the NFL Pro Bowl games (Travis Kelce, Jerry Jeudy, Zay Flowers, Ja’Marr Chase, and Brock Bowers), Surtain held them to 16 targets, six catches for 56 yards, zero touchdowns, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 8.3 when those players were targeted with Surtain in coverage on 92 total routes.

In total, Surtain allowed 35 total catches this season on 56 targets on 921 coverage snaps, allowing only 306 total yards and snagging four interceptions and 11 passes defended, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.

In just four seasons, Surtain has already carved out a path to the Hall of Fame and has already secured his place as the best cornerback in franchise history.

It’s also likely that Surtain will grace the cover of Mile High Sports magazine again before it’s all said and done.