Today, we are analyzing Patrick Surtain II, Alabama’s 6’2″ 202 lb. cornerback who had quarterbacks trying to avoid throwing at him all year long. His list of accolades in 2020 is extensive, and includes being a CFP National Champion, SEC Defensive Player of the Year, a unanimous All-American, and a First-Team All-SEC player.
Strengths: Surtain is very good in man coverage, as quarterbacks rarely target him due to him consistently staying connected with the receiver. He possesses good quickness and very good fluidity to turn and run with a receiver without giving up any ground in transition. He is very physical, and has mastered how to use this physicality to disrupt a receiver throughout his route without drawing penalties. Overall, his understanding of how to play man coverage is elite, as he displays high-level technique and football intelligence on a consistent basis. He uses his length to his advantage, both in jamming a receiver at the line of scrimmage in press coverage and in disrupting passes at the catch point. Surtain excels in zone coverage as well, displaying high-level awareness and processing. Poise is not often discussed as a cornerback trait, but Surtain’s habit of staying calm and collected throughout the play is impressive. Surtain is very reliable in run support, and is a strong tackler as well. Surtain is highly experienced and battle tested, with several seasons of elite play against top competition on his resume.
Weaknesses: Surtain lacks true deep speed, giving up ground late in a vertical route at times. While his suddenness is not a weakness, it can be improved upon as very twitchy receivers can shake him on short routes; that being said, this is not a common occurrence. Surtain’s unimpressive ball production is not just a product of rarely being targeted but also due to his average ball skills, as he has had some opportunities to record interceptions but could not seize them.
Bottom Line: Surtain is one of the safest picks in the draft, with an extremely high floor due to his consistency as an elite college cornerback over multiple seasons as well as being technically sound in his game. His physical and athletic traits are not quite elite, which somewhat limits his upside, but they are still well above average and allow him to be sticky in man coverage. These traits can also be combined with his fantastic technique and physicality. Surtain is a complete cornerback, as he excels in zone coverage and run support as well. His lack of top-notch deep speed and ball skills may prevent him from becoming a top three cornerback in the league, but I fully expect him to be a highly reliable future Pro Bowler nonetheless.
Draft Projection: Picks 9-12.
Draft Grade: 1.3 (indicative of an early-mid first round grade).
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