Top 5 Denver Broncos impact players to watch vs. Texans in Week 2

Denver Broncos impact players vs. Texans: Pat Surtain II, cornerback

In case everyone wasn’t aware before the Seahawks game, Pat Surtain II has arrived. He’s not just one of the best “young” cornerbacks in the NFL, he’s officially one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL. Surtain established himself quickly as one of the more dominant corners in the league early on last season, but now we’ve seen him consistently shutting down one side of the field. Although I’m not typically a fan of bringing up star players in posts like this (because they are such obvious candidates), I think we need to talk about Surtain and the matchup he’s got against Houston.

Specifically, the Broncos will likely give Texans receiver Brandin Cooks the Pat Surtain treatment, and that is going to be a very fun matchup to watch all game long. Cooks is one of the most underrated receivers in the NFL, a true model of consistency who was rewarded by the Texans this offseason with a big-time contract. Cooks is basically guaranteed 1,000 yards every season at this point, pretty much like clockwork.

He averages 67 yards per game for his NFL career and he’s capable of stretching the field vertically as well as winning in a variety of ways. The Broncos should expect Cooks to be heavily targeted simply because that’s the key to Houston’s offensive success. If Cooks is able to be effective, everything else seems to flow from that. He was targeted 12 times in Week 1, and even though the Texans played a full overtime period against the Colts, I think we can expect a lot of the same in Week 2.

Surtain will be tested in this matchup. Cooks is a much different playmaker compared to DK Metcalf but he’s equally capable of making huge plays and getting behind coverage. Surtain will have to be on top of his game yet again in this one.