PFF gives 2024 Defensive Player of the Year a perplexing ranking

Let’s start with the glaring fact that Surtain was the best non-offensive player in the NFL, winning Defensive Player of the Year. He was not only a Pro Bowler, but he was also a First Team All-Pro selection, something that Gardner did not achieve in 2024. 

Winning these awards speaks to Surtain’s elite consistency, game changing performances and dominance over the course of an entire season. These honors cement a player as one of the best in the league, and yet, somehow, despite all this, he is not the top ranked cornerback on PFF’s list. 

What is even more bizarre is that the advanced metrics PFF uses for players is in complete favor of Surtain. In 2024, he posted higher grades in run defense, pass defense and overall grade. Surtain had a 85.1 coverage grade, and a 81.8 run defense grade. Meanwhile, Gardner had a 73.1 coverage grade, and a 53.6 run defense grade. Statistically speaking, Surtain had more interceptions and more pass deflections. 

Gardner is still a very good player, and completely deserving of being on this list. In fact, his ranking of 23 really is not even that bad. However, to rank him in front of Surtain after the dominant year he just had, is simply a boggling decision. Surtain is a lockdown corner, who always gets the harder matchups. Gardner, in his own right, does the same but just not as good as Surtain. 

It’s also worth noting that this is not just about stats or awards, Surtain also passes the eye and film test with flying colors. He consistently dominated the playing field in 2024, and never truly disappeared. There simply was not a more reliable, polished, and complete corner in the NFL last year. 

Ranking Surtain at 27, feels a bit inaccurate to the play on the field. He is a top 10 player in the NFL, and deserves to be ranked as such.