There are five positions in football that you must have a game wrecker at. You must have a good quarterback, pass rusher, wide receiver, left tackle, and cornerback. After a tier drop, there’s running back and full safety as well. Every scheme works with the right personnel, so playing zone with defenders’ backs toward the sideline works, but if you have a chance to acquire a shutdown cornerback, you do.
Pat Surtain II Playing Like Deion Sanders and Rod Woodson
Enter Pat Surtain II, No. 3 in PFSN’s CB Impact Score. Instead of playing zone, the Denver Broncos can play a variation of man and zone, Cover 6, for example, because Surtain II cuts the field in half. So, half of the field can be Cover 2 man with Surtain II, the nickel corner, and the strong safety up top. But the other half of the field can be in Cover 4 zone with the second boundary cornerback and full safety.
With Riley Moss as the second boundary corner, though, the Broncos can run straight man coverage across the formation. It’s a luxury only teams with a shutdown cornerback have.
NFL.com’s Jeffri Chadiha has taken notice of Surtain II’s play. The former compared the latter to Hall of Famers Deion Sanders and Rod Woodson.
“The 1990s were a revolutionary period for the cornerback position because of two men: Sanders and Woodson. Sanders changed the game with his electric speed and ability to literally shut down one side of the field when it came to opponents throwing the football. Woodson combined toughness and technique with his own breathtaking physical skills,” Chadiha wrote.
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Surtain II is currently injured, and his absence is noticeable. The Broncos’ defense is running less man coverage with a rookie CB in the second boundary CB slot. Even if the Broncos run cover 6, it’s not the same luxury. In straight man coverage, the Broncos can send five or more pass rushers and create individual matchups. Doing that in cover 6 leaves the tight end or running back uncovered. Chadiha continued.
“There’s a reason that he joined Woodson and Sanders last season as one of only five cornerbacks to be named NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Surtain is that special,” Chadiha wrote.