The Denver Broncos checked off a top five position in the NFL roster-construction hierarchy when the team drafted Pat Surtain in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft.
Paying dividends immediately, Surtain lands on the league’s official website‘s top 10 coverage players of 2021. The second-year cornerback slots in at No. 4. The only defenders ranked higher are Rasul Douglas, J.C. Jackson and A.J. Terrell.
Using Next Gen Stats, NFL.com’s Nick Shook used six metrics to shape his list. The longtime writer for the league’s official website looked at passer rating allowed, catch rate allowed below expectation, tight window percentage, target rate, average separation and targeted expected points added.
Now that you’re confused, check out the full list and Shook’s explanation behind every metric to get a better understanding.
As a headstart, Shooks writes, “qualifiers needed a negative targeted expected points added (a metric used to quantify how much an individual player impacts an opponents’ scoring potential and the most important metric used in this exercise).”
On Surtain, Shook adds, “There’s no better time to show you’re headed for a bright future than in your first season, and Surtain did just that in 2021. The rookie stepped right into the spotlight last season, recording an interception in his second professional game and snagging two picks against the division-rival Chargers in Week 12, taking one back for a touchdown. Such plays on the ball powered his targeted EPA, which landed at -21.8, sixth-lowest in the NFL and fourth-lowest on this list. Offenses that thought it wise to test the youngster soon learned that was a mistake.”
Check out the rest of what Shook says on Surtain. Elsewhere in Surtain news, fellow cornerback Ronald Darby is already expecting big things from the former in Year 2. But it’s not just Darby. Veteran safety Kareem Jackson is all in on Surtain’s Year 2 leap as well.
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