Patrick Surtain II has built an impressive resume in just five seasons.
The Denver Broncos defensive back has made four Pro Bowls, been first-team All-Pro twice, second-team once and was only the seventh cornerback to win AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year, earning the award after the 2024 season.
Surtain now has been voted the top NFL cornerback for the second straight year by The Associated Press in a preseason survey.
Surtain received seven first-place
votes from a panel of eight AP pro football writers who ranked the top five players at the position, basing selections on current status entering the 2026 season. First-place votes were worth 10 points. Second- through fifth-place votes were worth 5, 3, 2 and 1 points.
Derek Stingley Jr. got the other first-place vote and finished second. Quinyon Mitchell and Devon Witherspoon tied for third, and Trent McDuffie and Sauce Gardner tied for fifth.
Surtain has become an elite player at a premier position. He allowed 31 receptions and a 66.5 passer rating when targeted by opposing quarterbacks in 2025.
Surtain had one interception, mainly because teams don’t throw his direction. He missed three games with a pec strain but returned in the playoffs to help the Broncos reach the AFC championship game.
Stingley earned All-Pro for the second straight season, and has developed into one of the league’s best cover cornerbacks for Houston’s stingy defense.
He had four interceptions, allowed 34 receptions in coverage and broke up nine passes in coverage last season. Opposing quarterbacks had just a 67.4 passer rating against him.
Stingley was selected one spot ahead of Sauce Gardner at No. 3 overall in the 2022 draft.
He got five second-place votes and appeared on seven ballots.
Mitchell earned All-Pro honors in just his second season in the NFL.
He gave up 36 catches in coverage, broke up seven passes and QBs had just a 58.4 passer rating against him. Mitchell doesn’t have an interception in the regular season but he’s snagged four picks in five playoff games for the Eagles.
Mitchell appeared on six ballots.
Witherspoon made his third Pro Bowl in three seasons, earned second-team All-Pro honors and helped Seattle win the Super Bowl.
He surrendered 46 receptions in coverage and QBs had a 99.8 passer rating against him. Witherspoon appeared on four ballots.
McDuffie has been one of the league’s best slot cornerbacks in his first four seasons in Kansas City, helping the Chiefs win two Super Bowls and play in another one.
McDuffie was a first-team All-Pro slot cornerback in 2023 and a second-team choice in 2024. The Rams acquired him for a package of draft picks, including No. 29 overall in this April's draft.
He allowed 37 passes in coverage, broke up four and had one pick. He allowed a 94.7 passer rating when targeted.
McDuffie appeared on three ballots.
The two-time All-Pro was traded from the Jets to the Colts in a blockbuster deal for two first-round picks midway through last season but played in only four games for his new team because of a calf injury.
Gardner received three votes.
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