Patrick Surtain's Rookie of the Year Odds Skyrocket Following Ronald Darby Injury Update
By Peter Dewey
Denver Broncos rookie cornerback Patrick Surtain II only played 16 snaps in the team’s Week 1 win over the New York Giants, but his role is about to expand with Ronald Darby being placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury.
The Broncos only played Patrick Surtain II for 16 snaps on Sunday. In a league scrambling to find usable cornerbacks, it just feels like they're taunting the rest of us.
— Robert Mays (@robertmays) September 13, 2021
Broncos placing CB Ronald Darby on IR with a hamstring injury that will cause him to miss at least three weeks and will leave him week to week after that, per source. Denver’s first-round pick Patrick Surtain II now is expected to step into the starting lineup.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 14, 2021
Darby signed a three-year deal with the Broncos this offseason, but he may get replaced for good by the No. 9 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft if Surtain lives up to his potential.
In Week 1, Surtain didn’t record a tackle, and he was actually the defender on Sterling Shepard’s 37-yard touchdown catch in the first half.
That didn’t stop the oddsmakers at WynnBET from moving Surtain’s Defensive Rookie of the Year odds up on Wednesday, as he went from +1000 to +750 and is now second (behind Micah Parsons) to win the award.
Surtain rose from +1200 to +1000 during the preseason, and his stock keeps rising in the eyes of Vegas. The second defensive player selected, behind Jaycee Horn, in the 2021 NFL Draft, Surtain has major expectations in Denver as he was taken over quarterback Justin Fields.
The Broncos started Teddy Bridgewater in Week 1 and the move paid off, as they rolled over the Giants 27-13. Bridgewater threw for 264 yards and a pair of scores on the day, but Denver’s defense was just as good, allowing only 314 total yards.
Surtain will fill right in with Bryce Callahan, Kyle Fuller, Justin Simmons and Kareem Jackson in Denver’s secondary, and if he plays as well as his Defensive Rookie of the Year odds suggest, the Broncos should handle business as six-point favorites against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 2.
Does Patrick Surtain II have value as a Rookie of the Year candidate? Get in the action on the WynnBET app.