Patrick Surtain is the 10th-best player in the NFL.
That, per the NFL Top 100 list, which was voted on by current football players.
Surtain is the best corner in the league once again.
Patrick Surtain named NFL’s 10th-best player in NFL Top 100
What can we say about Surtain that hasn’t already been said?
Two years ago he was the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year. Last year, he was the 10th-best player in the league, a spot he retained this year.
It will be interesting to see who else is listed ahead of him, but there’s little doubt that Surtain is the top cornerback in the league.
From NFL.com:
“Surtain was once again a cornerstone in Denver’s top-three overall and scoring defense, earning his fourth consecutive Pro Bowl nod despite missing three games due to a pectoral injury. According to Next Gen Stats, he allowed just one touchdown on 63 targets and 572 coverage snaps last season. Finishing in the top 10 in this list in back-to-back seasons, the 2024 Defensive Player of the Year remains the standard at the position.
NFL Pro Insight for Surtain: Pass catchers averaged just 2.1 yards of separation versus Surtain when he was targeted in 2025, second-lowest in the league (min. 50 targets) behind only Philadelphia’s Quinyon Mitchell (1.8).”
That last stat is interesting; he stays incredibly close to the receivers he’s covering. By sticking to the offensive player like glue, he totaled 12 passed defensed last year. That was tied for the second-most he’s had in a season in his career.
Where can Surtain improve this year?
Be it his reputation or name recognition, Surtain landed in the top 10 again this year despite having a down season in 2025.
He missed three regular season games with a shoulder injury, had three fewer interceptions than he did in 2024, and he fell to “merely” a Second Team All-Pro after being First Team in 2024.
We saw the drop in his play in Pro Football Focus grades, too.
In 2024, he earned an 85.6 overall grade and an 87.4 coverage grade. Each of those were No. 1 in the league.
But last year Surtain’s grades to 72.0 (22nd) and 71.5 in coverage (26th). Sure, those are still starting cornerback grades, but they’re a far cry from best corner in the NFL level.
Besides playing with more consistency in the pass game, Surtain’s run defense slipped last year, too. He was only an average run defender in 2025, too. We saw glimpses of that in the Week 2 preseason game when he was run through on a run against the Packers. But he did then bring the physicality on the tackle of Christian Watson, which was a great sign.
Of course, his best asset is playing pass defense, but Surtain has always been a solid tackler, too. He hurt that shoulder last year trying to tackle George Pickens in the Broncos 44-24 win over Dallas in Week 8 and it may still be in his head a bit.
This year, Surtain needs to find the balance between playing with physicality—whether that’s supporting the run game or hitting receivers—and staying healthy.
Denver’s Super Bowl window is open and they need Surtain in the lineup each week, shutting down the opponent’s top receiver. He’s the definition of lockdown cornerback and has been mostly phenomenal when he’s on the field.
