Patrick Surtain II Drafted by Broncos: DEN's Updated Depth Chart After Round 1

The Denver Broncos jumped at the chance to add the SEC's best defensive player and selected Alabama cornerback Patrick Surtain II with the No. 9 overall pick of the 2021 NFL draft on Thursday.

Here is a look at how the rookie will fit into his new team's defensive depth chart:

LDE: Shelby Harris, Jonathan Harris

NT: Shamar Stephen, McTelvin Agim

RDE: Dre'Mont Jones, DeShawn Williams, Deyon Sizer

OLB: Bradley Chubb, Malik Reed

ILB: Alexander Johnson, Austin Calitro, Justin Strnad

ILB: Josey Jewell, Josh Watson

OLB: Von Miller, Derrek Tuszka

CB: Patrick Surtain II*, Duke Dawson, Nate Hairston

CB: Kyle Fuller, Bryce Callahan

Nickel CB: Ronald Darby

FS: Justin Simmons, Trey Marshall

SS: Kareem Jackson, P.J. Locke, Chris Cooper

Depth chart info provided by Ourlads and Over the Cap.

Surtain was a consensus All-American and won the SEC Defensive Player of the Year during the 2020 campaign while helping lead the Crimson Tide to the College Football Playoff National Championship.

The 21-year-old finished the season with 37 tackles, nine passes defended and an interception that he returned for a touchdown during a victory over Mississippi State.

Those individual stats surely would have been better, but opposing quarterbacks rarely even dared to throw toward his side of the field throughout the season. Even guarding No. 1 options, Surtain rarely let pass-catchers find comfortable openings for quarterbacks to exploit.

Bleacher Report's NFL Scouting Department ranked Surtain as the best and most versatile cornerback in the draft. That versatility should help him immediately adjust to the NFL level with an ability to line up in man coverage, occupy the correct space in zones and perhaps even play some safety if needed.

He has enough size to play with physicality and press at the line of scrimmage against bigger wide receivers but is also fast enough to stay with speedsters downfield and break on routes.

While he may not be the best tackler in this draft, Surtain fits every other box as a potential No. 1 cornerback as soon as his rookie season.

If he can live up to that potential, this will be one of the most important picks of the entire 2021 NFL draft for a team that could use the help in the secondary.

Denver was a middling 16th in the league in passing yards allowed per game in 2020 and has to deal with the likes of Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert in the AFC West every season. It needs elite-level cornerbacks to have a chance to compete in the division.

Surtain certainly fits the bill.