Who Defensive Player of the Year Patrick Surtain thinks are the best QBs in the NFL

Something is growing in the Mile High City. Their defense was one of the best in the league last year, and their offense looks to be turning a new leaf under Sean Payton and second year quarterback Bo Nix.

Surtain’s top five QBs

One of the key ingredients to Denver’s dominant defense last year was Defensive Player of the Year, Patrick Surtain II. Surtain, who is the son of two time NFL First Teamer Patrick Surtain plays in one of the toughest divisions in football against some of the best quarterbacks in the league.

In the stacked AFC West, which sent three teams to the playoffs last year, he and the Broncos defense have to take on Patrick Mahomes twice a year, and Justin Herbert twice a year. It just so happens that both of those quarterbacks are on Surtain’s Top 5 QB list.

When asked to rank the top five quarterbacks that he’d rather not face, Surtain put three time Super Bowl winner Patrick Mahomes at the top of the list. That should come as no surprise given Mahomes’ resume, especially when you consider the way the Chiefs have dominated the Broncos since Surtain came into the league in 2021. KC is 6-2 in that time, and one of those losses came in Week 18 of last year, when the Chiefs sat their starters and the Broncos won 38-0.

Nix is “going to be a problem”

The next two QBs Surtain listed were a couple of MVP winners in Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen coming in second and third respectively. After that, the three time Pro Bowler put division rival, LA Charges QB, Justin Herbert in the fourth spot. He then rounded out the list with Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow.

He continued his list, and made sure to mention second year quarterback, and teammate Bo Nix. “I’m telling you man, Bo is going to be a problem. I ain’t going to say too much, because I know he don’t like me to. When he first came in, like he was ready. He was sound. Everything about him just screamed veteran QB in a way,” said Surtain.

To be fair to Surtain, and Nix, he doesn’t really have to face Bo outside of practice, so that might be why he left him outside of his list of five QBs he would rather not face. The former Oregon Duck was taken 12th overall in last year’s NFL Draft, and had a fantastic first season in which he led the Broncos to the playoffs for the first time since 2015. He threw for 3,775 yards, 29 TDs and just 12 INTs completing 66.3% of his passes and came 3rd in Rookie of the Year voting.

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