The year before Patrick Surtain II arrived at Alabama, the Crimson Tide won its second CFP national championship in three seasons. During the cornerback’s three seasons at Alabama, the Tide posted a 38-3 record, played in two national-championship games and won one.
Surtain entered the NFL as the ninth selection in the 2021 draft well-versed in the foundations of winning and the weight of expectations – two areas his NFL team, the Denver Broncos, had not had much to do with over the past decade.
But in 2024, the Broncos won 10 games and made the AFC playoff field for the first time since the 2015 season.
Surtain’s contributions to the Denver resurgence were such that he won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards presented by The Associated Press and the Pro Football Writers of America for 2024. And he has a way to top that performance.
“There’s always something out there to do better,” Surtain said on Saturday. “You know what I mean? Why not get another one? Why not get more All-Pros further on in my career?
“But I think the main goal is to win the Super Bowl, at the end of the day. You know, that’s why I play the game is to win, so I think that’s the end goal for me.”
The most recent Denver team to win a playoff game yielded the fewest yards and the fourth-fewest points in the NFL during the 2015 season. In 2024, the Broncos were down to third in points allowed and seventh in yards allowed among the NFL’s 32 teams.
To that strong showing, Denver added linebacker Dre Greenlaw and safety Talanoa Hufanga in free agency and used a first-round draft pick on Texas’ Jahdae Barron, who could open his career as the Broncos’ slot corner, this offseason.
“We added some key additions,” Surtain said. “Obviously, in Hufanga and Greenlaw, those guys are going to come in and bring that winning atmosphere. They’ve been to Super Bowls. They know how to win at a high level, so adding that to the team will only make our team even greater.”
Surtain was immersed in the keys to winning at Alabama, where he was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year and a unanimous All-American in 2020.
“Coming from a prestigious school like that, when we win at a high level, I think it just all comes down to the basics, the fundamentals and, like I said earlier, doing the simple things right,” Surtain said while attending his youth football camp in Colorado. “I think that carries on over to this stage as well, at the pros. You know, I was just talking about the kids on doing the simple things the right way, but it also applies to the pros as well.”
The Broncos have completed their offseason program. Denver gets back to work at training camp, with the rookies reporting on July 16 and the veterans following on July 22. The Broncos’ three-game preseason schedule starts on Aug. 9 against the San Francisco 49ers, and Denver kicks off its regular season on Sept. 7 against the Tennessee Titans.
“Don’t ride the highs, don’t ride the lows, but stay in between,” Surtain said of the team’s mindset. “You know what I mean? We know how football could get, especially with expectations, especially with predictions and stuff like that. But we try to stay level-headed, stay grounded, be where our feet are and just grind and perfect our craft each and every day.”
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at@AMarkG1.