'It's like poetry in motion' - Pat Surtain lands at No. 10 on NFL's Top 100, and what his peers had to say speaks volumes

Surtain jumped up 42 spots from last season, which still feels criminally low. Through his four seasons in Denver, Surtain has started in 65 games with 11 interceptions (two returned for touchdowns), 47 passes defended, two forced fumbles, and 232 combined tackles (184 solo, 48 assisted). Three Pro Bowl trips in four years, along with two All-Pros and a Defensive Player of the Year, is quite the start to a career. It should be no one's surprise that Denver locked him up long term. Surtain signed a four-year, $96 million extension on Sept. 4, making him the highest-paid defensive back at the time of signing.

Surtain wanted to be No. 1

The superstar cornerback was a little disappointed when the video kicked off, his ferocious competitive nature bleeding through: He wanted to be number one. Yet another reason Broncos Country has fallen in love with him.

As the Denver Broncos reported, Surtain's next-gen stats tell a clearer picture of just how dominant he is on the gridiron. Ranking first in fewest yards allowed (306), lowest target rate (10.9 percent), fewest air yards per target (7.1), and fewest yards allowed per coverage snap (0.6). A sticky corner who doesn't let nearly anything get past him.

What other players had to say about Surtain

• Marlon Humphrey, Ravens CB : "If I had to write a textbook on cornerback play, it'd be Pat Surtain," Humphrey said. "There's very few people that move that smoothly at his height, his size. It's like poetry in motion. It's honestly beautiful to see when he's in press man. Which is what he's best at, it's really impressive."
• Mike Sainristil, Commanders CB : "When you have his measurables, you know, 6-foot-3, runs a 4.3 in 40-yard dash, can move the way he does, it's just very elite," Sainristil said. "You know, he's setting the bar for what the cornerback position can be."
• Xavier McKinney, Packers S : "You can try to put a 6-foot-3, 6-foot-4 receiver on him, but it ain't gonna do much," McKinney said. "You get a smaller guy, and he can go out there and run still. So just the different things that he can do in his game, man, it's special to see.
• Christian Gonzalez, Patriots CB : "He kind of set the precedent of being a bigger corner but still being able to move around and play inside, play outside, and it's kind of what I try to do."
• Jameis Winston, Giants QB : "He's a technician. When you see him on film, you're trying to see, okay, what specific routes can I beat him in?" Winston said. "What one-on-one routes are we gonna attack him in? Just his elite focus on the receiver's hips. His football IQ, he's spot on every single time. Because you can see, like, his urgency to be ready to drive on the route, his patience to be able to let a route come to him because he knows what's coming. It's very impressive."
• Brian Branch, Lions S: "Like Darelle Revis, like, he can really shut down, you know one side of the field," Branch said. "And I'm talking about, like, every game. There ain't nobody doing that.
• Chris Olave, Saints WR : "He follows the best receiver every week, and he holds the top receivers to a tough game," Olave said. "So he's the best corner in the league right now."
• Nik Bonitto, Broncos LB : "Having a guy that you can go out there and put on any receiver and you won't hear about him for the rest of the game, that does wonders for a D-line."
• Derek Stingley Jr., Texans CB: "He's been doing it a long time," Stingley said. "Technical. He's gonna get his hands at the line. He's going to make sure his feet are in the correct spot. And he can also go catch the ball."
• Pat Surtain, himself: "Pick-6." (When asked about his favorite play from the year.) "The Raiders, they were in the red zone trying to score. Had to make a play. I was on my target. He ran his route, then, boom, I made a break. I seen the ball in the air, made a play, and I seen nothing but green grass ahead of me. I was pretty tired after that, I could say. Once I caught the ball, I knew I was gonna score. I knew I was gonna go to the crib with this. I just felt like I needed that play."