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<\/p>\nYou ask Louis Wright if he looks at Pat Surtain II, whisking to daylight, and sees shades of himself, four decades earlier. He laughs. Different game. Different time. Different knees.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is No. 1,\u201d Wright, Denver\u2019s OG shutdown cornerback, said of Surtain\u2019s rank among corners in Broncos history.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only thing he hasn\u2019t done (is), he hasn\u2019t done it over a consistent number of years. But if we had to rank everybody (in Denver lore) on their first two years, he\u2019s No. 1. No doubt about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Great corners change game plans. Legendary corners change games. At 23, Surtain has already locked down the former. And to Wright\u2019s eyes, the kid\u2019s closing in on the latter with 4.4 speed.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything I would say and teach, (Surtain) already does,\u201d said Louis, an \u201cOrange Crush\u201d icon who anchored the Broncos\u2019 secondary from 1975- to ’86, and is arguably the greatest defensive back not to own one of Canton’s gold jackets.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m serious. You\u2019re (talking) straight backpedals and (cuts), (and) he\u2019s already full-speed. He\u2019s one of the few people who can do that. All his fundamentals fit just perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before Champ Bailey\u2019s eight Pro Bowl berths raised the bar for Broncos cornerbacks, Wright set it with five of his own (1977, \u201978, \u201979, \u201983 and \u201985). Before Bailey and Aqib Talib and the No-Fly Zone, there was the great \u201cLou-dini,\u201d a Texan who made John Madden kvetch and Dan Fouts shudder.<\/p>\n
Smart. Tall. Physical. Fast. Long reach. Quick twitch. A 200-pound package of mess-around-and-find-out. Sound like anybody we know?<\/p>\n
\u201c(Surtain) doesn\u2019t run his mouth all the time. He\u2019s got some respect for his opponents,\u201d Wright said of his spiritual successor. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t talk smack. Everything about him is great. (He\u2019s) everything you should be.\u201d<\/p>\n
Quarterbacks avoid PS2 like he\u2019s a dentist, tax collector and great white shark, all rolled into one. Once they spot the dorsal fin, the smart cookies know how the rest of the story goes. Keep a safe distance and swim the other way.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne thing I do like about (him), is so many DBs go up and bump-and-run in bump coverage and press coverage but they never (adjust) the receiver. They just let them run,\u201d said Wright, who turned 70 in January and recently retired from teaching.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember my (coach) said, \u2018If you\u2019re not going to hit him, what\u2019s the point of going up there?\u2019 Because you give them that advantage. Surtain, at least he hits receivers. \u2026 If you don\u2019t knock them off, there are going to be perfectly timed routes. And if you hit them, their timing\u2019s off. He seems to be the only DB in the NFL who (understands that).\u201d<\/p>\n
PS2 ranked fourth in the league last fall, per Pro Football Focus, among qualified corners in terms of the percentage of opponents who wind up getting open (just 28.8%; the Chargers\u2019 Michael Davis was No. 1, at 26.2%). Among cornerbacks who made 17 starts last fall, Surtain\u2019s average yards-allowed-per-target \u2014 as in, how yardage opponents gained whenever a ball got thrown his way \u2014 was 6.1 and bested in the AFC by only the Jags\u2019 Tyson Campbell (5.2), the Jets\u2019 Sauce Gardner (5.3) and Gardner\u2019s teammate D.J. Reed (5.8).<\/p>\n
Like gunslingers and dragons, the legend of a great cornerback gets passed first by word of mouth, from locker room to locker room. When ESPN.com\u2019s Jeremy Fowler published a poll of NFL GMs and personnel types last month asking who they pegged as the top corner in the league, PS2 edged out Gardner, last fall\u2019s Defensive Rookie of the Year. In the most recent NFL Top 100, Surtain checked in at No. 49, highest of any Broncos player.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always tell myself, \u2018I\u2019ve got to get better, get better than the year before,\u2019\u201d PS2 reflected recently. \u201cSo I’m looking to get higher in those rankings.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the son of a three-time Pro Bowler, Surtain straddles the line between technician and ninja, artist and perfectionist. Long hours of prep make bad days in the office rare.<\/p>\n
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But grill marks such as the ones Davante Adams left on PS2 last November \u2014 seven catches, 141 yards, two scores \u2014 at Empower Field, well, those get seared into the soul.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe talked after (that) game and I told him, \u2018Don’t ignore the feeling that you’re feeling right now. OK? Embrace this, internalize it, harness it,\u2019\u201d Broncos defensive backs coach Christian Parker recalled.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery young player has had those (games). \u2026 Michael Jordan was getting his (backside) kicked by the Pistons early. Even Peyton (Manning), you know, he started his career in Indianapolis (slow). And it’s how you can push through those moments, trust yourself, trust the coach and (trust the) environment around you.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he gives up a pass or whatever, there’s a look in his eye. He’s developed that killer instinct.\u201d<\/p>\n