Pat Surtain II should be in Defensive Player of the Year conversation

The rest of the country is catching up on what Denver Broncos fans know.

Pat Surtain II is really, really freaking good. And even that undersells just how really, really freaking good the Broncos cornerback is.

Earlier this week, Chris Simms listed Surtain as the No. 1 cornerback in the NFL right now.

And here’s the thing – Surtain is only going to get better.

Earlier this year, I said he will be in contention as the NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Given Surtain’s odds at DraftKings Sportsbook, bettors should consider a flyer on him given the insane value.

Well, Simms listing Surtain the way he did keeps the hope alive for that. And it should. Surtain is the best player on one of the best defenses in the NFL.

What will hurt Surtain on possible votes is that the team hasn’t lived up to expectations. Still, that shouldn’t impact him that much. He is that good.

The other negative factor is Surtain doesn’t have any interceptions. But that’s not a great indicator of how great of a season he’s having.

“It’s a great point,” Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett said to the Denver media. “He’s an unbelievable football player, unbelievable person, and then (just) his work ethic, everything that he does. He’s playing at a very high level. I wouldn’t really blame people for not trying to throw over there because of his skill set. I don’t think you can entirely judge that on someone.

“If somebody’s getting a lot of picks, maybe they’re getting the ball thrown to him a whole bunch or maybe it was a tipped ball. There’s a lot of things that go into an interception. I know where Pat is, and he’s an unbelievable player regardless of what the stats say.”