The second corner off the 2021 NFL Draft board is officially under contract.
The Denver Broncos have agreed to terms with ninth-overall pick Patrick Surtain II, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported. The team later announced the signing.
Surtain followed South Carolina's Jaycee Horn in consecutive selections of cornerbacks inside the top 10 during the first round of the 2021 draft and figures to be penciled in as a day one starter for the Broncos. He'll play opposite free-agent pickup Kyle Fuller in what Denver hopes will be a cornerback tandem that will help catapult the Broncos' defense beyond its 16th-ranked finish (tied with the Giants) in passing yards allowed per game in 2020.
The son of former All-Pro corner Patrick Surtain, the younger Surtain enters the NFL as the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year, a unanimous All-American and a first-team All-SEC selection for the 2020 season. As a first-round pick and son of a past NFL standout, expectations for Surtain will be great in the Mile High City.
