NFL.com Analyst Places Two Broncos Among Top-3 DBs in League

The Denver Broncos have a number of questions entering this offseason. While the roster will likely undergo a fair amount of turnover, one area Sean Payton and his new coaching staff can be excited about is the secondary.

With cornerback Patrick Surtain II being named a first-team All-Pro and a Pro Bowler, and safety Justin Simmons earning second-team All-Pro honors, Denver has two of the best defensive backs in the entire NFL. As Broncos Country has found out in the post-Peyton Manning era, a great defense can only take you so far, but it certainly helps to have two great players on the same unit on that side of the ball.

Just how good is the Surtain/Simmons duo? NFL Network's Jason McCourty listed Surtain and Simmons among his top-three defensive backs in the NFL.

Listed at No. 3 overall, Simmons is a guy who simply “makes play-after-play." McCourty touted Simmons’ ability to make plays on the ball over multiple seasons as his main driving point for being one of the best defensive backs in the NFL and the only safety listed in his top-three.

“The last three years, (Simmons had) five plus interceptions in each of those seasons. The only player in the NFL to do that," McCourty said.

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McCourty also praised Simmons for his league-leading (tied) six interceptions in 2022, despite missing five games due to injury. It’s not just Simmons' play on the field that makes him great, according to McCourty, but the fact that he is a captain and a leader in Denver's secondary.

“Justin Simmons getting it done each-and-every year, picking the ball off, and playing all over the field," McCourty said.

McCourty wasn’t done heaping praise on Broncos as Surtain earned the No. 1 overall spot on his list, touting him as “the best in football.”

“He lines up on the other team’s best receiver, he’s tall, he’s long, he’s physical, and he doesn’t mind the challenge," McCourty said. "Wherever he lines up, that side of the field is shut down. Not giving up a ton of yards or receptions and not giving up any touchdowns.”

At only 22 years old, Surtain should be an elite corner in the NFL for years to come, and McCourty made it clear that he's still on the ascent.

“Watch him, he’s still young, but he’s an ascending All-Pro and Pro Bowler,” McCourty said of Surtain.

McCourty understood that naming two of the best three defensive backs in football on the same team sounded a bit outlandish. This is especially true given the Broncos were one of the worst teams in football this season, finishing last in the AFC West and earning the No. 5 overall pick, which belongs to the Seattle Seahawks in the wake of the Russell Wilson trade.

It was just how good Denver's defense was, though, in comparison to the team's dead-on-arrival offense that made the defensive back duo even more impressive to McCourty.

“I know I went two Broncos but it’s because they have one of the best defenses in the NFL while having the worst offense in the NFL," McCourty said.

The reality is, Denver’s offense was exceedingly poor. But with Simmons and Surtain manning the back end of the Broncos' secondary for the foreseeable future, at least that side of the ball should perform well going forward.

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