In a recent article from June 30th, Bleacher Report's Brad Gagnon made a team only using players that he thinks deserve a bigger contract. To be specific, the article is titled "NFL's All-Underpaid Team: Trevis Kelce and More Players Who Deserve Bigger Contracts".
There are two Denver Broncos players on Gagnon's All-Underpaid team: offensive guard Quinn Meinerz and cornerback Patrick Surtain II. Both Meinerz and Surtain were selected in the same draft, the 2021 NFL Draft (the first draft with George Paton as the general manager).
The Denver Broncos drafted Patrick Surtain II with the 9th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. He was the second cornerback drafted that year, just behind Jaycee Horn, who the Panthers selected one pick before PSII. Surtain was not an immediate starter for the Broncos, and despite having a slow start to his career, he was a 1x AFC Defensive Player of the Week and was named to the 2021 Pro Football Focus and Pro Football Writers of America All-Rookie teams. In his second season, he became a true lockdown corner, one of the best in the league, earning a First-Team All-Pro selection, and Pro Bowl staring cornerback honors.
In the article, Gagnon mentions the following regarding Surtain ...
""Sauce Gardner of the New York Jets is an obvious one here but he was a rookie while dominating in 2022. Let's give him one more year. At least Surtain was awesome as both a rookie and a sophomore. His deal averaging $5.4 million a year ranks 38th at the position now, but he's in for a huge extension in 2024 or 2025.""Brad Gagnon, Bleacher Report
In the same NFL Draft, 2021, the Denver Broncos used a third-round selection in D-III school Wisconsin Whitewater's offensive lineman Quinn Meinerz. To be specific he was the 98th overall pick, the same pick as Justin Simmons in his respective Draft. Meinerz was the ninth interior offensive lineman to be selected in that Draft, behind Alijah Vera-Tucker (Jets) - round one, Landon Dickerson (Eagles), Aaron Banks (49ers), Josh Myers (Packers), Creed Humphrey (Chiefs) - round two, Wyatt Davis (Vikings), Kendrick Green (Steelers), and Ben Cleveland (Baltimore) - round three.
In his rookie year, Meinerz started every game since week 9, and last season he maintained the starting right guard job (he missed a few games due to injury). Quinn was the highest-graded Broncos offensive lineman by PFF, 5th-best in the NFL. He allowed only three sacks last year, and none in the final six games of the season, becoming one of the best run-blocking offensive guards in the league.
In the article, Gagnon mentions the following about Meinerz ...
""Meinerz broke out last year and is in a similar spot (as Michael Onwenu) on the brink of the final year of his third-round rookie deal.""Brad Gagnon, Bleacher Report
I think that both, Surtain and Meinerz will definitely get big contract extensions with the Denver Broncos, either this year or after the 2023-24 season.
Regarding their contracts, why does Gagnon see both Surtain and Meinerz as underpaid players? Meinerz and Surtain are both still in their rookie deals. Quinn is due a $1.095 million in base salary with a $1.305 million cap hit for 2023, and Surtain is due $940,000 in base salary with a $5.717 million cap hit for 2023. Numbers do not lie, they are both definitely underpaid players.