George Paton Drafting Patrick Surtain
Yes, I know that Justin Fields has had a very nice sophomore campaign this season which has people questioning once again whether it was the right move to select Patrick Surtain over a potential franchise quarterback. Patrick Surtain, despite a rough last couple of weeks, has been nothing short of phenomenal. In fewer than two seasons, he has established himself as a top-10 player at his position, which is not easy to do at the cornerback position so early in your career.
The irony of the Patrick Surtain pick is that he will, forever, and always be linked to Justin Fields much like Bradley Chubb was linked to Josh Allen as what could have been for the Denver Broncos.
I realize that the next thing I am going to say is going to piss people off, but it is clear to me that George Paton didn’t think Justin Fields had the potential to be a star quarterback in this league for whatever reason. It is also clear to me that he was gearing up to make a run at a top veteran quarterback this past offseason such as Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson. Taking the best player available was the right move, and it landed the Denver Broncos a shutdown cornerback in a division full of explosive offensive playmakers.
Judge as you may about George Paton’s move to acquire Russell Wilson, but it was the right move at the time, and if that move would have panned out, there would be nobody looking at the play of Justin Fields this year thinking, “man, the Denver Broncos should have drafted him instead”.