Patrick Surtain Sr. is a former All-Pro NFL defensive back, spending 11 successful seasons in the league. He knows how things work, and he has a pretty strong opinion of where he wants his son to land in the NFL Draft.
Surtain’s son, Patrick Surtain II, is a highly-touted cornerback prospect out of Alabama widely projected as a high-end first round pick. A number of mock drafts have Surtain II landing with the Dallas Cowboys, who have a need on defense and hold the No. 10 pick.
Surtain Sr. fully endorsed that possibility on Friday’s edition of “Keyshawn, JWill and Zubin” on ESPN Radio, saying that his son’s skill and versatility would be ideal for new Dallas defensive coordinator Dan Quinn.
“It’s the Seattle old defense,” Surtain said, via Sam Marsdale of 247Sports. “I know the defensive coordinator, who was in Seattle when they had the Legion of Boom. So I think it’s a lot of misconceptions with that defense, about being a man-in-the-zone structure defense. I think, for the most part, when I watch, I saw Richard Sherman and those guys play man on the outside. Obviously, it’s changeup to play the Cover 3 with them bailing and everything. But with their physicality, with him and (Trevon) Diggs’ physicality, I can see some similarities between Sherman and those guys on the outside. But I saw them play a lot of press, press man and the offset was some Cover 3. So I think he can do it all, man. That’s why I think he’s highly coveted, because he’s an all-around corner. He can play man. He comes up and can tackle. He can play in the slot if need be. So I think he’ll be a perfect fit.”
Surtain II will certainly be one of the first defensive players off the board in the draft. On paper, he and the Cowboys do seem like a perfect match, although Jerry Jones might be too fixated on another prospect to care.
