There are quite a few names starting to pass through the world of college football that generate overwhelming nostalgia. Seeing Frank Gore Jr.’s name as his father still churns his legs in the NFL is the only one that doesn’t make my joints creak. However, seeing Alabama’s Patrick Surtain II and South Carolina’s Jaycee Horn will make you check the mirror for more gray hairs. Joe Horn was a four-time Pro Bowler while Patrick Surtain hit that mark three times and added one All-Pro bid. Now, there’s a Horn vs. Surtain II battle in the 2021 NFL Draft, and it’s a battle for the top cornerback in the class. Which legacy hears their name called first on April 29?
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Horn vs. Surtain II
Surtain and Horn both deserve consideration for the first cornerback drafted in 2021. They are different players in almost every way outside of pure athletic testing and size. Both are over the 70th percentile in height, weight, arm length, and wingspan for the position. Athleticism is an entire process, and both generated legendary Relative Athletic Scores. Horn boasted a 9.99 RAS and Patrick Surtain II finished with a 9.96 RAS.
On the field, these two could not be more different. Horn is an in-your-face competitor who looks to take away the opposing team’s best receiver both physically and mentally. He is the prototypical press-man corner. Horn faced a murderer’s row of receivers during his career at South Carolina. Despite that, he passed the test with flying colors.
Surtain II is a much more reserved player. He still makes no qualms driving downhill from coverage to go make a tackle, but he doesn’t display the same killer mentality Horn does. His biggest plus is his intelligence. In Nick Saban’s complicated “match Cover 3” scheme, he was always in the right place at the right time. Surtain’s never-wavering consistency makes him a boring, yet exceptional prospect to watch.
Which cornerback goes first?
On the April 21 episode on Draft Insiders, PFN Chief NFL Analyst Trey Wingo and Chief NFL Draft Analysts and NFL Insider Tony Pauline discussed which CB would be taken first.
Wingo stated, “I think it is going to be Surtain” to which Pauline continued:
“I think it’s going to be Surtain but it wouldn’t surprise me if two or three years down the road Horn is the better player. He’s just as fast, just as physical, he showed tremendous improvement in his game last year. I like the ways he makes plays with his back to the ball on a more consistent basis than Surtain does.”
It’s impossible to ignore the constant connections made in mock drafts and in the rumor mill between the Dallas Cowboys and Surtain II. The Cowboys aren’t the first team picking in the draft to need a cornerback. Yet, they may be the first that has cornerback as their biggest need. If Dallas is the first team to take a corner, it will most likely be Surtain II over Horn.
That makes sense, too. The Cowboys are reverting back from a two-high team trying to run a complicated match-based coverage scheme to a “country” or spot-drop-style Cover 3. However, as the defensive coordinator in Atlanta last season, Dallas’ new DC Raheem Morris mixed up coverages at a high rate. It’s not known whether that will carry to the Cowboys in 2021.
As Tony Pauline noted in his report on Horn, he has an inconsistent trigger in zone coverage. Still, he’s not a poor zone coverage defender. He flashed the ability to drive on the football and make plays (the Auburn game). Still, his spacing and route recognition need work.
Conversely, if Surtain has any issue in his game, it’s that there are times in man coverage where his short-area agility is tested. This is most evident early in reps. Although he’s a smooth athlete, the suddenness in transition doesn’t always shine through for Surtain. Any “criticism” of either prospect’s game is nitpicking.
Calling the shot
Surtain has one edge that may swing things fully in his favor. Wingo explains, “Surtain certainly has the legacy of Alabama players going for him. Not sure whether that is right or wrong and whether it translates — we saw Dee Milliner a couple of years ago for the Jets not work out — but because so many players out of Alabama get drafted and get drafted high, I think Surtain is going to be the first one taken.”
I believe Surtain is the first cornerback drafted on April 29. Ultimately, this is significant because there’s a good chance he ends up being the 10th overall pick. He may even be the first defensive player off of the board. His playstyle is “safer” than Horn’s, but all it takes is for one team to look at their defense and think they need an injection of attitude. In that case, Horn would edge out Surtain.
[su_button url=”https://www.profootballnetwork.com/nfl-draft-prospects-2021-updated-big-board-player-rankings/” style=”flat” background=”#540008″ color=”#ffffff” size=”5″ wide=”yes” center=”yes” text_shadow=”0px 0px 0px #000000″]Keep Reading! 2021 NFL Draft Prospects: Pauline’s updated big board, player rankings[/su_button]
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