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The Denver Broncos have one of the NFL’s best cornerbacks in Patrick Surtain II, who has been one of the few bright spots in arguably the darkest era for the franchise since they began play in the AFL in 1960 and didn’t make the playoffs for the first time until 1977.
Surtain’s Batman could finally get his Robin next year — Pro Football Network’s Ian Cummings has the Broncos projected to selected Notre Dame star cornerback Benjamin Morrison at No. 6 overall in its latest 2025 mock draft.
“The Denver Broncos could just as easily take Will Johnson here, but Benjamin Morrison creates an intriguing dynamic with Patrick Surtain II,” Cummings wrote on June 22. “Surtain is the all-encompassing CB1 while Morrison is the gnat in man coverage who can capitalize on targets funneled his way.”
The Broncos are coming off an 8-9 season and haven’t had a winning record since 2016. ESPNBet has Denver projected at 5.5 wins on its over/under totals for 2024 — placing them firmly in the running for another high draft pick in 2025.
Morrison Trying to Follow Father’s Footsteps to NFL
Morrison is the son of former NFL safety Darryl Morrison, who starred at the University of Arizona and played four seasons for Washington from 1993 to 1996.
Benjamin Morrison, 6-foot and 190 pounds, starred in high school at Brophy (Arizona) Prep and became a starter at Notre Dame as a true freshman in 2022. He was a Freshman All-American after leading all Power Five programs with 6 interceptions and a Thorpe Award semifinalist in 2023 with 3 interceptions.
Morrison also has experience playing against the very best wide receivers in college football after holding his ground the last two seasons against Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr., the No. 4 overall pick by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2024 NFL draft.
“Morrison’s posted an 86.8 single-coverage grade since 2022, which paces all returning Power Five corners,” PFF’s Max Chadwick wrote in his evaluation of the best cornerbak prospects in the 2025 NFL draft. “On seven targets against Marvin Harrison Jr. over the last two years, he had more forced incompletions (three) than allowed catches (two). While there’s work to do as a tackler, Morrison has elite ball skills for the position and could be a top-10 pick next year.”
Broncos Will Have to Pay Up for Surtain
The Broncos are being forced to make some unusual financial moves because of $85 million in dead cap money over the next two seasons because of the disastrous Russell Wilson contract signed before the 2022 season. That still won’t get them out of having to pay up for Surtain, who is on track to become one of the NFL’s highest-paid cornerbacks.
After signing Surtain to a 4-year, $20.9 million contract after he was drafted at No. 9 overall out of Alabama in 2021, the Broncos picked up the fifth-year option on his contract in April 2024, which would pay him a whopping $19.8 million in 2025.
For a better idea of the money the Broncos might have to cough up for Surtain, the median overall contracts of the top five highest-paid cornerbacks in the NFL comes out to either a 4-year of 5-year extension for $92 million with an average salary of $20.2 million per year and $50.6 million in guaranteed money.
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