Broncos' CB Pat Surtain II & RB Javonte Williams Names to Two All-Rookie Teams

A positive about the 2021 Denver Broncos 2021 has been this year's draft class. The Broncos found multiple players who have contributed to some degree and shown the promise to be key players in the future.

Two of those players are the Broncos' first- and second-round picks — cornerback Patrick Surtain II and running back Javonte Williams. And while the season has yet to end, the two rookies have already picked up accolades from one site.

Football Outsiders analysts Andrew Knowles and Bryan Potter discussed their picks for their 2021 NFL All-Rookie team in an article published earlier this week. Among their choices was Surtain as one of the three cornerbacks and Williams as the running back.

Surtain, who entered the conversation for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year midway through the season, received praise from Knowles for his play this season:

"(Surtain) was the AFC Defensive Player of the Week in late November after intercepting two Justin Herbert passes in a victory over the Chargers, one of which he took back for a pick-six. He was even an outside bet for the Defensive Rookie of the Year earlier in the season, though Micah Parsons ran away with that in the end. With Jaycee Horn's injury taking him out of the equation, Surtain has been easily the top rookie cornerback."

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Surtain has four interceptions in 15 games, 12 passes defended, and 52 tackles, one for a loss. He looks very much the part of a No. 1 cornerback.

Football Outsiders considered Williams alongside Pittsburgh's Najee Harris and San Francisco's Elijah Mitchell. Potter wrote that Harris has better numbers by volume, while Mitchell is better in terms of efficiency but that the difference was split and Williams was the pick.

"Williams entered the week second among freshmen in both attempts and yards behind Harris, so he scores highly in the workload category. Williams also had 87 DYAR and a -1.8% DVOA, very solid numbers for a rookie. Further, Williams is leading the league with 33 broken and missed tackles, per SIS charting, and his 3.5 yards after contact leads all running backs with at least 50 carries. He has excelled despite working with a lesser collection of blockers than Mitchell has had in San Francisco, and so he's our pick."

While Harris has more total yards rushing (984) than Williams (827), the Broncos' rookie back has been more efficient, averaging 4.7 yards per carry on 177 rushes, vs. Harris' 3.7 yards average on 268 totes.

Williams has split carries with veteran Melvin Gordon this year, but with the veteran set to become an unrestricted free agent, it's likely that 'Pookie' will take over as the Broncos' lead back in 2022.

While the two may not get the top rookie awards (New England QB Mac Jones will likely be Offensive Rookie of the Year and Dallas LB Micah Parsons will be DROY), Surtain and Williams stand out at their positions among rookies.

Thus, it came as no surprise that Football Outsiders wasn't the only site to recognize Surtain and Williams with All-Rookie recognition as NFL.com also named the duo to its respective teams. Expect more accolades to come once the regular season ends.

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