Kyle Pitts, 4 other trades Denver Broncos must make before deadline
4. Broncos should consider offers for CB Pat Surtain II
I'm not going to make many fans with this one, but I do think that the Denver Broncos should at least pick up the phone if teams call about cornerback Pat Surtain II. Now, this one is certainly not going to be unanimously agreed upon, and I see both sides of this coin.
On the one hand, why would you trade your best defensive player when your defense is already terrible? Pat Surtain II is the best cornerback in the NFL, arguably, and this is a defense that desperately needs more players like him, not less.
On the other hand, the Broncos' defense has been gashed all year long, and Surtain's effectiveness has been rather diminished by the fact that the Broncos can't cover on the other side of the field well enough. The pass rush has also been too inconsistent for Surtain's mastery to be fully on display. As a matter of fact, we've seen Surtain struggle just a little bit, haven't we?
I don't blame Surtain for being frustrated, if that's the case, and we certainly saw his father go on Twitter and express frustration on behalf of his son. It kind of makes it feel like Surtain has one foot out the door and is just out there doing his job. Of course, winning cures all, but Surtain would be the Denver Broncos' most valuable trade piece and could net them at least two first-round picks in any trade.
The baseline would undoubtedly be the Jalen Ramsey trade from a few years back, when the Jaguars got two first-round picks and a fourth-round pick from the Rams. If the Broncos have one or multiple offers from teams looking into acquiring Surtain for multiple first-round picks, I think you seriously have to consider that. The Broncos definitely need that kind of draft capital and although it's unknown draft picks versus a known commodity in Surtain, the Broncos may need to think seriously about this due to the current state of the roster and the need to get cost-controlled players with higher draft selections.