The Denver Broncos hadn't had a Defensive Player of the Year winner since 1978 until Patrick Surtain II was named the 2025 winner. Now, everyone in Broncos nation is giving Surtain his flowers.
That includes his father, Pat Surtain Sr. He joined the masses in congratulating his son and spreading the word of just how talented the cornerback really is, via DNVR.
“It's just an amazing feeling, it's surreal. It's one of the greatest awards you can get in the NFL,” Surtain Sr said. “To see him be the Defensive Player of the Year, it's a culmination of all the work he's put in, the dedication he has to the game and the kind of person and player he is.”
Surtain won DPOY with 26 of 50 first-place votes and 330 total points. He held quite the margin of victory over second place finisher Trey Hendrickson, who earned 11 first-place votes and 205 points total.
However, Surtain's numbers clearly show why he was the runaway DPOY winner. Starting 16 games, the cornerback made 45 tackles, 11 pass breakups and a career-high four interceptions. He took one of those picks back to the house as his overall 132 yards off of interceptions led the league. To top it all off, Surtain earned an 85.6 overall grade and a 87.4 coverage grade from Pro Football Focus. Those numbers ranked second and third respectively out of 223 cornerbacks.
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Needless to say, Surtain was named both a Pro Bowler and an All-Pro. The 2024 campaign marked Surtain's third-straight Pro Bowl season. And even with the DPOY in the bag, Surtain Sr is only expecting more.
“The sky is the limit for him. There's more coming, trust me,” Surtain said. “Nobody has ever done it twice at the DB position, so why not?”
Patrick Surtain Sr had a stellar NFL career himself, earning three Pro Bowl nods and an All-Pro nomination. He has seen his son develop as a football player. All of that hard work, all of that preservation, it manifested itself in the 2025 DPOY title.
“When he was 10 and 11-years old, I saw something different in him. I pushed him, and he answered all the calls. He started growing into his body, started having a great career at Alabama. Came into the league day one like he was a 10-year pro,” Surtain said. “That's how it has always been. He's cerebral, he's a pro at the game. Just really, really proud moment for him, for me, for my family.”
