2021 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Patrick Surtain

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Patrick Surtain II, 6-2/203 Cornerback Alabama

Patrick Surtain II Scouting Report
By Charlie Campbell

Strengths:

Excellent height

Superb length

Good weight, strength

Straight-line speed

Size to match up against big receivers

Instinctive

Plays the ball well in air

Good ball skills

Soft hands to intercept passes

Threat to take the ball away

Good tackler

Physical

Does a good job of preventing separation

Weaknesses:

Outside corner only

Lacks twitch

Has change of directions problems

Straight line athletically

Can be late getting his head around to track ball in flight

Not a good fit in off man coverage

Summary: Patrick Surtain II had no issues living up to the large expectations he brought to Alabama. Being the son of a Pro Bowl cornerback who played for over a decade in the NFL with the Dolphins and Chiefs, Surtain saw the field as a freshman. Alabama consistently features a loaded secondary, so it can be hard for young players to see the field. Surtain, however, was the exception, as the star recruit got a lot of playing time for a freshman under Nick Saban. Surtain played well in 2018, recording 28 tackles with an interception, seven passes defended and one forced fumble. He looked like he was just scratching the surface of his potential. As a sophomore in 2019, Surtain had 42 tackles with two interceptions, three forced fumbles and eight passes broken up in 2019.

Surtain played well in 2020 and was a steady cover corner for Alabama. He was the team’s No. 1 corner and did a good job of limiting top receivers on the opposition. Against Mississippi State, he had four tackles, two breakups, and a short pick-six in garbage time. He turned in a solid game against Georgia. Surtain made some good breakups against Tennessee, but he was also beaten for a touchdown from about 30 yards out. Taking on Florida, Surtain collected two passes broken up and three tackles, but he was also burned by Trevon Grimes on a 50-yard touchdown. Surtain played well in the college football playoff to help Alabama beat Notre Dame and Ohio State en route to winning another National Championship. Surtain totaled 38 tackles, 11 passes broken up and a pick-six in 2020.

There is a lot to like about Surtain for the NFL, as he looks like he could be a quality starter quickly as a pro, especially if he is drafted into a system that plays a lot of press man. Surtain has excellent size, with height and length that make it very difficult to get passes around him. Along with height and length, Surtain has developed strength to fight off receivers and maintain good positioning for contested passes. Surtain’s height and length also helps him to have nice recoverability to narrow the space and close the window for completing passes.



As a corner, Surtain has good feel, instincts, and advanced technique. He plays the ball really well, showing impressive ball skills for a big corner. When Surtain is in close coverage, it can be a dangerous proposition to throw his direction. as he is very capable of getting his hands on the ball to snatch it away or deflect it away from the receiver.

The big question with all large cornerbacks is how well they run. and Surtain has the speed necessary to play in the NFL. He is fast in the straight line yet is able to turn and run with receivers. While Surtain is not a blazer, he has enough quickness to run down the sideline and keep receivers from burning him over the top. He won’t be one of the fastest corners in the NFL, but his speed won’t make him a liability.

There are some limitations for Surtain in the NFL, and his pro defensive coordinator would be wise to not match him up against smaller speed receivers. Surtain is not a twitchy corner and has some change-of-direction problems. Thus, he is better suited to line up on the outside against big receivers and not a fit to move inside to the slot. Being an outside-only corner is not the end of the world, but it cuts down on Surtain’s versatility for his pro defense. His lack of twitch and his change-of-direction issues are common with big corners, and that makes him a better fit for playing press-man corner. He is not a good fit to play off-man coverage against NFL receivers.

After a little time adjusting to the NFL, Surtain should be off and running as a starter. He has the potential to be a good pro.



Player Comparison: Carlton Davis. There are a lot of similarities between Davis and Surtain. Davis (6-1, 206) is almost identical in size and has some of the same strengths and limitations as Surtain. Both of them are big corners with instincts, ball skills, and a physical style of play. They also can have issues with twitchy speed receivers.

2021 NFL Draft Player Previews - Choose Player 2021 NFL Draft Player Previews - Home Paulson Adebo, CB, Stanford Tutu Atwell, WR, Louisville Jhamon Ausbon, WR, Texas A&M Aaron Banks, G, Notre Dame Christian Barmore, DT, Alabama Carlos Basham, DE, Wake Forest Rashod Bateman, WR, Minnesota Nick Bolton, LB, Missouri Baron Browning, LB, Ohio State Dyami Brown, WR, North Carolina Spencer Brown, OT, Northern Iowa Tyson Campbell, CB, Georgia Jackson Carman, OT, Clemson Ja'Marr Chase, WR, LSU Andre Cisco, S, Syracuse Zaven Collins, LB, Tulsa Sam Cosmi, OT, Texas Jabril Cox, LB, LSU Christian Darrisaw, OT, Virginia Tech Jamin Davis, LB, Kentucky Wyatt Davis, G, Ohio State Landon Dickerson, C, Alabama Liam Eichenberg, OT, Notre Dame D'Wayne Eskridge, WR, Western Michigan Travis Etienne, RB, Clemson Caleb Farley, CB, Virginia Tech Justin Fields, QB, Ohio State Paris Ford, S, Pittsburgh Pat Freiermuth, TE, Penn State Kenny Gainwell, RB, Memphis Richie Grant, S, Central Florida Najee Harris, RB, Alabama Kylin Hill, RB, Mississippi State Trey Hill, C, Georgia Jevon Holland, S, Oregon Jaycee Horn, CB, South Carolina James Hudson, OT, Cincinnati Talanoa Hufanga, S, USC Creed Humphrey, C, Oklahoma Teven Jenkins, OT, Oklahoma State Mac Jones, QB, Alabama Patrick Jones, DE, Pittsburgh Brevin Jordan, TE, Miami Kelvin Joseph, CB, Kentucky Trey Lance, QB, North Dakota State Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson Alex Leatherwood, OT, Alabama Walker Little, OT, Stanford Hunter Long, TE, Boston College Terrace Marshall Jr., WR, LSU Jalen Mayfield, OT, Michigan Tre' McKitty, TE, Georgia Davis Mills, QB, Stanford Trevon Moehrig, S, TCU Elijah Molden, CB, Washington Kellen Mond, QB, Texas A&M Dan Moore Jr., OT, Texas A&M Elijah Moore, WR, Ole Miss Rondale Moore, WR, Purdue Dylan Moses, LB, Alabama Israel Mukuamu, CB, South Carolina Jamie Newman, QB, Wake Forest Greg Newsome, CB, Northwestern Daviyon Nixon, DT, Iowa Dayo Odeyingbo, DE, Vanderbilt Osa Odighizuwa, DT, UCLA Azeez Ojulari, LB, Georgia Levi Onwuzurike, DT, Washington Joseph Ossai, LB, Texas Jayson Oweh, DE, Penn State Jeremiah Owusu-Koromoah, LB, Notre Dame Micah Parsons, LB, Penn State Kwity Paye, DE, Michigan Ronnie Perkins, OLB, Oklahoma Jaelan Phillips, DE, Miami Kyle Pitts, TE, Florida Dillon Radunz, OT, North Dakota Aaron Robinson, CB, Central Florida Quincy Roche, OLB, Miami Larry Rountree, RB, Missouri Gregory Rousseau, DE, Miami Asante Samuel Jr., CB, Florida State Trey Sermon, RB, Ohio State Penei Sewell, OT, Oregon Tyler Shelvin, DT, LSU Rashawn Slater, C, Northwestern DeVonta Smith, WR, Alabama D'Ante Smith, OT, East Carolina Trey Smith, G, Tennessee Marquez Stevenson, WR, Houston Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, Oklahoma Eric Stokes, CB, Georgia Chazz Surratt, LB, North Carolina Sage Surratt, WR, Wake Forest Patrick Surtain, CB, Alabama Tamorrion Terry, WR, Florida State Kadarius Toney, WR, Florida Kyle Trask, QB, Florida Joe Tryon, DE, Washington Jay Tufele, DT, USC Payton Turner, DE, Houston T.J. Vasher, WR, Texas Tech Alijah Vera-Tucker, OT, USC Jaylen Waddle, WR, Alabama Tylan Wallace, WR, Oklahoma State Rashad Weaver, DE, Pittsburgh Javonte Williams, RB, North Carolina Rodarius Williams, CB, Oklahoma State Marvin Wilson, DT, Florida State Zach Wilson, QB, BYU

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