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Pat Surtain II Wins NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award
Pat Surtain II has been one of the NFL's top cornerbacks since entering the league in 2021, with two All-Pro and three Pro Bowl selections to his name. Now, he has taken home one of the NFL's biggest awards at just 24 years old.
Surtain was named the NFL's AP Defensive Player of the Year on Thursday night, becoming just the second defensive back to receive the honor since 2010, joining Stephone Gilmore (2019).
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The Denver Broncos standout was a true shutdown cornerback all season, finishing the year with 45 tackles, 11 passes defended and four picks, including a 100-yard pick-six early in the season against the Las Vegas Raiders.
🔒⬇️🎮@PatSurtainll is the 2024 @AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year‼️ pic.twitter.com/FnpCqno4XP
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) February 7, 2025
Opposing quarterbacks had a meager passer rating of just 58.9 when targeting Surtain this season, helping the Broncos become one of the NFL's top defenses in '24. The Broncos improved from 8–9 to 10–7 this season, making a surprising run to the playoffs.
Surtain was the favorite to win the award entering Thursday, beating out pass rushers T.J. Watt, Myles Garrett and Trey Hendrickson and linebacker Zach Baun.
With the win, Surtain is just the second Broncos player to take home the award, joining linebacker Randy Gradishar who took home the honor in 1978.
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Dan Lyons is a staff writer and editor on Sports Illustrated's Breaking and Trending News team. He joined SI for his second stint in November 2024 after a stint as a senior college football writer at Athlon Sports, and a previous run with SI spanning multiple years as a writer and editor. Outside of sports, you can find Dan at an indie concert venue or movie theater.