DEAL AGREED: Broncos Are In Final Stages Of Contract Talks To Sign Elite CB to play Along Sides Surtain Jr.

The Denver Broncos feature one of the NFL’s top cornerbacks in Patrick Surtain II, who has been one of the few bright spots amid perhaps the franchise’s darkest era since they began play in the AFL in 1960 and did not enter the playoffs until 1977.

Surtain’s Batman may finally get his Robin next year, according to Pro Football Network’s Ian Cummings, who predicts the Broncos will take Notre Dame star cornerback Benjamin Morrison at No. 6 overall in its most recent 2025 mock draft.

“The Denver Broncos could just as easily take Will Johnson here, but Benjamin Morrison creates an intriguing dynamic with Patrick Surtain II,” Cummings said on June 22. “Surtain is the all-encompassing CB1 while Morrison is the gnat in man coverage who can capitalize on targets funnelled his way.”

The Broncos are coming off an 8-9 season and have not had a winning record since 2016. Denver is forecasted at 5.5 wins on ESPNBet’s 2024 over/under totals, putting them squarely in the running for another top draft pick in 2025.

Morrison Trying to Follow Father’s Footsteps to the NFL
Morrison is the son of Darryl Morrison, a former NFL safety who thrived at the University of Arizona and spent four seasons with Washington from 1993 to 1996.

Benjamin Morrison, who stands 6 feet and weighs 190 pounds, was a standout at Brophy (Arizona) Prep before starting at Notre Dame as a freshman in 2022. He was a Freshman All-American after leading all Power Five programs in interceptions with six, and he was a Thorpe Award semifinalist in 2023 with three.

Morrison has also faced some of college football’s top wide receivers, including Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr., the Arizona Cardinals’ No. 4 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft.

“Morrison’s posted an 86.8 single-coverage grade since 2022, which paces all returning Power Five corners,” PFF’s Max Chadwick noted in his review of the top cornerback prospects in the 2025 NFL draft. “On seven targets against Marvin Harrison Jr. during the last two years, he had three forced incompletions to two allowed catches. While Morrison still needs to improve as a tackler, he has excellent ball skills for the position and might be a top-10 choice next year.

Broncos Will Have to Pay Up for Surtain.

The Broncos are forced to make some unorthodox financial decisions due to $85 million in dead cap money over the next two seasons as a result of Russell Wilson’s terrible contract signed prior to the 2022 season. That won’t keep them from having to pay Surtain, who is expected to become one of the NFL’s highest-paid cornerbacks.

After signing Surtain to a 4-year, $20.9 million contract after being drafted ninth overall out of Alabama in 2021, the Broncos exercised his fifth-year option in April 2024, which would pay him a stunning $19.8 million by 2025.

To get a better idea of the money the Broncos might have to cough up for Surtain, the median overall contracts of the top five highest-paid cornerbacks in the NFL comes out to either a 4-year or 5-year extension for $92 million with an average salary of $20.2 million per year and $50.6 million in guaranteed money.