AFC West cornerback trios ranked from worst to best in 2023

1. Denver Broncos

Pat Surtain II, Damarri Mathis, K'Waun Williams

Although this could be perceived as being weighted heavily on just Pat Surtain II, it's really not. The Denver Broncos clearly have the best group of cornerbacks in the NFL right now and Surtain is simply the centerpiece of it all.

There's not really enough hyperbole you can use to describe Surtain. He's a technician out there, a player you can place Champ Bailey-level confidence in, just knowing he's always going to be doing his job at a high level. He was properly recognized last year as an All-Pro and he's only going to keep getting better.

In addition to the development of Surtain, the former 9th overall pick in the NFL Draft, the Denver Broncos found a diamond on day three of the 2022 NFL Draft with fourth-round pick Damarri Mathis, who ended up as the primary starter on the opposite side of the field from Surtain last season. Ronald Darby went down with an injury early in the season, giving way to Mathis, who looked like he belonged out there.

Mathis had 65 total tackles and 7 passes broken up in his rookie year, proving he could be trusted on the outside in some tough matchups. Despite being called for some questionable penalties in one of his first starts, Mathis showed he has the type of confidence to come back and make a clutch play like this late in the game:

K'Waun Williams is the grizzled veteran of this Denver Broncos cornerback trio, and he proved last year that he's still one of the top 10 slot corners in the league. Williams played injured at times throughout the season and even sealed the Denver Broncos' London win over Jacksonville with an interception while wearing a huge club on one arm.

This trio of cornerbacks will need to have more ball production in 2023, but I think they are clearly the best in the AFC West as of right now.