#and also getting ja'marr to back off for his own good

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The Broncos drafted a Surtified star

Cameron Hogwood Interviews, Comment & Analysis @ch_skysports

Rookie cornerback Patrick Surtain II flashed a glimpse of his potential as he starred in the Denver Broncos' preseason opener against the Minnesota Vikings.

Last Updated: 18/08/21 11:46am

Surtain looks primed to make an immediate impact in the NFL (AP) The Denver Broncos may have been sucked into overthinking the decline of Justin Fields' draft stock, nevertheless in doing so acquired a certified stud for their troubles in Patrick Surtain II. Drafting good football players is wise and savvy and smart and rather self-explanatory. But as history tells us the draft can so often lure teams into contagious group-think and the mistake of over-scrutinising; and while the Broncos might later rue their decision to pass on Ohio State's unjustly-doubted quarterback, pulling the trigger on Alabama's prized cornerback with the ninth overall pick offered little room for protest.Those that endorse Surtain allude to a 'gets it' guy. The kind anybody watching football for the first time would believe had been patrolling an NFL secondary for years. 'Gets' football, 'gets' leadership, 'gets' hard work, 'gets' the attention to detail required at the top. Surtain grew up with a former All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowler for a father before picking the mind of Nick Saban in Tuscaloosa; there is a transparency to the elite guidance and expertise that have moulded the 21-year-old into a destined star at his position. Preseason is preseason, a minefield for snap judgements that fade into nothingness and ‘checks depth chart’ names that appear once only to never be seen again. And then there are the ‘yep’ moments.Surtain logged his own ‘yep’ moment in Denver’s preseason opener against the Minnesota Vikings, raising the curtain on his pro-ready faculties by sniffing out a debut pick six.Hunting a third-and-four at the Vikings 23, Surtain read the eyes of quarterback Jake Browning before out-working Ihmir Smith-Marsette to pick-pocket the wide receiver’s comeback route and return a 30-yard interception for a touchdown. The back-peddle was expertly controlled and scarily premeditated, the square shoulders stayed true in form for the entirety of the play, the timing and acceleration to his back-foot push-off was faultless and the shut-down speed exquisite."Don’t throw it over there," rejoiced Courtland Sutton on the sideline.Alabama’s rivals targeted Surtain just 48 times during the team’s National Championship-winning 2020 season. NFL quarterbacks will soon learn to follow suit when it comes to swerving Surtain’s side of the field."PS2, he don't play no games," said Broncos quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.

Surtain was one of the top defensive prospects available in the draft Surtain's time at college entailed lining up against some of the most talented playmakers the nation had to offer, from Florida's Kyle Pitts to Ohio State's Chris Olave/Garrett Wilson tandem, while LSU's star-studded National Championship-winning side including Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson and Terrace Marshall purposely avoided him for the majority of their 2019 matchup.His maiden interception for the Broncos shared similarities to the pick six he recorded against Mississippi State in his final year at college, Surtain affording himself just the right amount of leverage and keeping his eyes on the quarterback while gliding sideways in keeping with receiver Cameron Gardner before pouncing on the curl route and muscling in for the takeaway. Again: precision, instincts, speed, technique, aplomb.Every inch of his 6ft 2 frame was on display against Michigan back in 2019 when he somehow managed to bat a potential touchdown pass out the grasp of Mike Sainristil inside the five-yard line while simultaneously twisting his hips, keeping his eyes fixated on the flight of the ball and remaining stride for stride with the receiver.Similarities in pre-draft testing to Los Angeles Rams corner Jalen Ramsey are supported by the tape heading into the NFL. From both a physical and mental standpoint, he has it all."He's just a do-it-all type of guy," Broncos safety Justin Simmons said of Surtain earlier this offseason. "He gets football and he understands it. He gets conceptually what we're doing on defense. It's awesome watching him play." The man Denver drafted instead of a quarterback didn’t waste time introducing himself to the man Denver kept their faith in at quarterback, Surtain having been responsible for Drew Lock’s first turnover at training camp.Head coach Vic Fangio has meanwhile found himself blessed with the luxury of being able to shift his shiny new toy into multiple defensive back roles, Surtain's presence in an already well-equipped secondary giving the Broncos not only the freedom to increase their use of six-DB sets but also the security over the top that will allow for more four and five-man rushes."It's rare. It's rare that you would ask a rookie to do that, No. 1, and it's rare that he's been able to handle it and do it," said Fangio. "Now, he's not perfected any of them yet, by any means, but we think he can, and it's not too big for him."The Broncos’ win over the Miami Dolphins last season, during which they came away with six sacks, was about as good an insight into what a Fangio defense offers as you would wish for, with simulated Cover 2 and five-man rush looks combining with nickel packages in costing Tua Tagovailoa valuable milliseconds spent trying to decipher the carnage in front of him. And that was without Von Miller.Surtain’s versatility and football IQ looks a perfect match for that alongside the likes of Simmons, Kareem Jackson and Kyle Fuller.

Surtain II (2) celebrates his interception against the Vikings with teammate Saivion Smith (38) (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn) It might be premature to suggest Surtain’s introduction could see this unit rival Denver’s ‘No Fly Zone’ defense of 2015, but the potential is there to be among the most gifted and productive secondaries in the NFL.The mid-route aggression and physicality of a Jaycee Horn may not be as evident to Surtain's game, but he is such a smooth operator that it doesn't really need to be. Rarely does he overcommit or overextend himself, while the blend of length, vertical spring, decisive calculation, get-off speed and conviction at the point of attack makes him a match for any receiver in the league."You've seen the guys say he's picking up things like he's a vet," said Broncos linebacker Bradley Chubb. "I see nothing different. He's carrying himself with a confidence and a swag." George Paton, coach Fangio and the Broncos got themselves a good one. Draft good football players.For updates on preseason, be sure to follow along at skysports.com/nfl and on Twitter @SkySportsNFL. Read the full article

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New on Sports Illustrated: Why Jacksonville Drafted Leonard Fournette Will Really Disappoint Jaguars Fans Now

With Leonard Fournette now on the waiver wire, let's revisit the decision to draft him fourth overall in 2017. Plus, which other running backs are watching Alvin Kamara's contract situation, Ja'Marr Chase opts out, Logan Ryan to the Giants and more.

So here we are, 10 days away from the regular season…

• The backstory of Leonard Fournette is relevant today, as the former fourth overall pick hits the waiver wire, and (fair warning) what I’ll write here is going to be painful for Jaguars fans to hear. After Gus Bradley was fired late in the 2016 season, the team started the process of finding a new coach—and a number of guys that interviewed for the job (Josh McDaniels and Kyle Shanahan were on the list) told the team in no uncertain terms that it needed to move on from 2014 first-rounder Blake Bortles. In fact, one reason Doug Marrone was able to win the promotion from interim coach was because he was pragmatic in his thought the process, and willing to try and get Bortles right. His plan to do it was interesting: Take the ball out of the quarterback’s hands. So that offseason, the Jags went about building a ball-control offense. And in the draft, there was a perfect back to play that style, in LSU’s Leonard Fournette. Jacksonville took him, with the decision made to run it back for another year with Bortles, eliminating the chance the team would take Deshaun Watson or Patrick Mahomes. Again, in summary, the organization made the call to stick with Bortles, then did all it could to minimize his impact on games by taking a back that would fit the kind of offense that he would necessitate (rather than more-versatile Stanford star Christian McCaffrey). For a year, to Marrone’s credit, it worked. The Jags made the AFC title game. But the long-term fallout has been undeniable. Bortles wound up lasting two more years, and his failure necessitated overspending on Nick Foles, who lasted just one year. Meanwhile, while Fournette’s fit worked in the short-term, the price paid there was missing out on McCaffrey. Three years later, both Bortles and Fournette are without jobs, and Mahomes, Watson and McCaffrey are stars. And it can all trace back to the team sticking with Bortles for a season too long.

• As for Fournette’s future, he hits the wire Monday carrying a $4.17 million number for 2020, which is why he could go unclaimed—that’s a pretty decent chunk of money to be spending on a back less than two weeks before the opener. If he does clear, the idea of Pittsburgh makes sense to me, maybe because I remember what the similarly-old-school Jerome Bettis was before he went there, and how becoming a Steeler resurrected his career. And, for what it’s worth, Fournette’s got old offensive coordinators of his in Green Bay and Chicago. It’ll be interesting to see what’s next for him.

• Alvin Kamara’s run at a contract, presuming that’s what his absence from practice is, is interesting in a number of ways. One, there’s the fact that the Saints can report the absence as unexcused, which would cost Kamara an accrued season and make him a restricted (rather than unrestricted) free agent after the season. Two, there’s the choice to do this now, rather than at the beginning of camp, which actually could be solid strategically, in that the Saints need him present a lot more now than they would in late July or early August, when a holdout would typically be staged. Three, he’s a great player, and the team is in a win-now spot. They need him. So if this is the way to get a contract, and he’s confident it’s going to happen, Kamara doesn’t need to worry about accruing that season (even if does have an impact on his post-career benefits). Lots of push and pull on this one. Stay tuned.

• Also likely watching the Kamara situation: Cincinnati’s Joe Mixon and Minnesota’s Dalvin Cook. Both guys are going into contract years. How close Kamara gets to draft classmate Christian McCaffrey’s four-year, $64 million extension should at least clarify the landscape in negotiations for the other two. Kamara and McCaffrey, to be sure, are unique weapons not tied down to simply playing tailback. But Mixon and Cook have versatility too. And even if they aren’t what Kamara and McCaffrey are, if both Kamara and McCaffrey are over $15 million per year, it becomes clearer that the latter’s deal isn’t simply an outlier.

• Shout out to NFLPA president J.C. Tretter on asking the league, via a post on the union web site, for the continuation of daily testing into the season. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from the success the league has had—just four of 2,600 players are on the COVID-19 list as of this writing—it’s the importance of constantly testing players. It’s pretty simple. If you don’t let COVID-19 into the building, then it can’t spread. And as well as it has worked, I think Tretter’s right. Continuing with the testing would be money well invested for the NFL.

• One thing that was interesting to hear while I was in Tampa: Fourth-year TE O.J. Howard was ecstatic to be working with Rob Gronkowski. In checking in with some people there, some concern did exist as the Gronkowski trade went down in April that Howard might not take the news well. Instead, the opposite happened—and Howard’s agent actually called the team soon thereafter to tell them that the former top-10 pick couldn’t be happier. So when I talked to Howard on Sunday, I made sure to ask him about that. “Rob is one of the greatest ever to play the position,” Howard told me. “It was an opportunity for me to go and learn, and just become a sponge and soak up a lot of knowledge. I’m always about learning more, putting more things in my toolbox, continuing to sharpen those tools and become a better player. So this is an opportunity for me to do that with him and Tom [Brady]. I couldn’t be put in a better situation at a young age, Year 4. This is only the beginning for me, it’s been a great opportunity for me to have a chance to have my career take off.” That, of course, is a great attitude to have, and it’s showing up in his play, too. Howard’s cleaned up his problem with drops, and been a star in making circus catches in contested situations all month.

• While we’re there, and just to accentuate the point I made in the MMQB column, here’s promising second-year receiver Scotty Miller on how positive Tom Brady’s been in camp: “That’s something I’ve noticed from him since the day I met him. Just extremely positive. I’d heard stuff about him, that in New England, he’d get on guys or whatever. But with us, he’s as humble as it gets. I mean, if he puts the ball on my chest and I drop the ball, he’ll be like, ‘My bad, I gotta give you a better ball,’ where it’s not his fault at all. That gives us all confidence, when we see our leader being humble and wanting to work on his game every single day. It tells us, if he’s doing that, we need to be doing the exact same thing, always willing to take the blame, and always doing your best on every single play.” And how have his teammates taken to following him? Well, I was told last week that among the veteran skill players—guys who worked with him over the spring and summer—the Bucs have seen zero (0!) soft-tissue injuries. That’s despite the adverse summer conditions in Tampa, and despite the COVID-affected camp schedule. I can’t say whether they all took up Brady’s training methods, but I do know the team thinks those guys watching and being around Brady over that time helped.

• Four weeks ago today, I gave you 12 non-quarterbacks who I believed had the sort of NFL standing to seriously consider opting out of the 2020 college season. LSU WR Ja’Marr Chase, on Monday, officially became the fourth guy on that list to do it. Those left: Clemson RB Travis Etienne, Oregon OT Penei Sewell, Alabama WR Devonta Smith, Alabama CB Patrick Surtain, Alabama WR Jaylen Waddle, Ohio State CB Shaun Wade, Florida State DT Marvin Wilson, and Alabama LB Dylan Moses. LSU had another player opt out Monday as well—per our own Ross Dellenger, massive Tiger DT Tyler Shelvin won’t play this fall, and move his focus to getting ready for April’s draft. As it stands now, he’s probably a Day 2 pick, and so the decision to go is understandable. Also, the sudden exodus from LSU highlights something pretty interesting—the three programs that have the most sustained national success over the last decade (Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State) haven’t had a single opt-out yet.

• Good signing by the Giants, bringing Logan Ryan aboard at $7.5 million for this year. Before becoming a starting corner for the Patriots, Ryan was a core special-teamer for Joe Judge in Foxboro—Ryan was a gunner on the punt team as a rookie—so the two know each other exceedingly well. And just as Ryan was able to help Mike Vrabel establish some of those New England standards in Nashville the last two years, he should be able to do the same for Judge in Jersey the next four months. But really, this was about Ryan as a player. The Giants believe he’s still got plenty to give in that department.

• The Derwin James news is super disappointing, but another reminder that, many times, pre-draft concerns are warranted. I got asked a lot in 2018 how James slipped all the way to the 17th overall pick, where the Chargers snapped him up. Well, James was outstanding as a true freshman at Florida State, suffered a catastrophic knee injury as a sophomore, then came back and was less than 100% himself as a junior before declaring for the draft. The concern wasn’t over James’s ability to play. It was over his ability to stay healthy. Sadly, that concern’s proving warranted as a pro.

September 01, 2020 at 05:30AM Why Jacksonville Drafted Leonard Fournette Will Really Disappoint Jaguars Fans Now from Blogger https://ift.tt/2GcTIfb

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