The Denver Broncos have one of the NFL’s great players in cornerback Patrick Surtain II — what they’ve failed to do is put someone at the other cornerback spot who might be able to take some pressure off the two-time Pro Bowler.
That could all change with a trade proposed by Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine that would send a 2025 fourth-round pick to the Green Bay Packers in exchange for cornerback Eric Stokes.
“The Broncos found out last season that it isn’t too hard to simply target the other cornerback on the field if he’s a weak link,” Ballentine said. “Fabian Moreau and Damarri Mathis were targeted 99 times, giving up 990 yards and four touchdowns. Denver signed Levi Wallace to address the issue, but the 29-year-old is becoming a journeyman and gave up six touchdowns with the Steelers last season. Eric Stokes is in the final year of his rookie contract and has a first-round pedigree. Unfortunately, injuries have limited him to 12 games over the last two seasons, and the Packers might jump at the chance to improve their draft stock for next season.”
Stokes appears to be healthy headed into 2024 and has been one of the standouts early at Packers training camp — making him worth a fourth-round pick.
Packers Declined Fifth-Year Option on Stokes
Stokes was a first-round pick (No. 29 overall) by the Packers out of Georgia in 2021 but after starting 14 games as a rookie has seen his career almost come undone because of injuries the last two seasons. Stokes only played 9 games because of an ankle injury in 2022 and a hamstring injury in 2023 limited him to just 3 games.
Those struggles led the packers to decline the fifth-year option on Stokes’ 4-year, $11.9 million rookie contract that would have paid him $12.472 million in 2025, making him an unrestricted free agent after this season.
Should Stokes somehow emulate his rookie stats of 55 tackles, 14 pass deflections and 1 interception — for the Broncos, Packers or anywhere else — it would put him in line for a massive payday in 2025.
Surtain is NFL’s Best CB … But Needs Some Help
ESPN’s preseason survey of NFL executives, coaches and scouts voted Surtain as the No. 1 cornerback in the NFL headed into the 2024 season — up from No. 10 in ESPN’s 2023 preseason poll.
The problem for Surtain is the Broncos are terrible and there isn’t much promise for the future for them to get better. Remember that the Broncos haven’t made the playoffs since 2015 and haven’t had a winning record since 2016.
In 2024, the Broncos will likely either start a listless veteran at quarterback in Jarrett Stidham or a rookie in No. 12 overall pick Bo Nix. That’s why it’s understandable when oddsmakers have Denver’s over/under win total projection set at 5.5 wins almost across the board — only ahead of the lowly Carolina Panthers at 4.5 wins.
Yet Surtain remains, and Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox singled him out as one of just a handful of “true” franchise players in the NFL on July 25.
“The Denver Broncos lack star power and don’t feature many top-tier players,” Knox said. “However, they do have one standout worth building around in cornerback Pat Surtain II. Surtain, the ninth overall pick in the 2021 draft, has quickly established himself as one of the league’s best defensive backs, if not the very best. A two-time Pro Bowler and one-time first-team All-Pro, Surtain is arguably the best young cover corner in the NFL.”
