Pro Football Focus‘ Third-Quarter All-Pro Team is bound to stick in the craw of Denver Broncos fans. The only Bronco to make it was superstar cornerback Patrick Surtain II, with a quarter of the season still left to play.

“The highest-graded cornerback in football through the first 13 weeks of the season, Surtain has allowed just 214 yards on 26 receptions so far this year. Despite seeing just 36 targets on the season, he has still managed to record three interceptions and four pass breakups,” PFF’s Gordon McGuinness wrote.

Teams have wisely opted not to look in Surtain’s direction much this season, so making the PFF Third-Quarter All-Pro Team is all the more impressive as he continues to take away his side of the field. As he has continued to snuff out opposing wide receivers, he would likely need to win another head-to-head with a bonafide NFL star to get more serious nods for the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award.

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That marquee matchup didn’t materialize in Jerry Jeudy’s grudge match last Monday night, but maybe the Broncos making the playoffs will resonate most powerfully in the case of Surtain. Meaningless lists such as PFF’s shouldn’t be taken that all that seriously, but with both Nik Bonitto and Zach Allen performing at elite levels this season in Vance Joseph’s defense, their omission seems conspicuous. 

Bonitto is within striking distance of overtaking Cincinnati Bengals pass rusher Trey Hendrickson for the league lead in sacks as the Broncos march down the stretch. Past reputations do count, and since this is Bonitto’s first NFL breakthrough, he probably needs to average a sack per game moving forward to make himself seen and heard from coast to coast.

Offensively, a strong case could be made for Broncos right guard Quinn Meinerz to be on PFF’s All-Pro Team. Perhaps the lack of a dominant running game in Denver counts against Meinerz, but there’s still a lot of football to play, and the Broncos’ offensive line has excelled in pass protection this year.

There is also an interesting sub-plot emerging from PFF tapping Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers for the All-Pro squad, especially as he gains traction alongside Nix and Jayden Daniels for the Offensive Rookie of the Year award. Bowers has received a lot of shine in media circles of late, being named the Offensive Rookie of the Month, and PFF just helped him raise his profile.

Indeed, Bowers might have enough momentum to beat out Nix for the prestigious end-of-season award despite playing on a dismal Raiders team. Trading individual honors for team success is sometimes the way in the NFL.

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