According to the Pro Football Writers of America, cornerback Patrick Surtain II, who won the SEC Defensive Player of the Year award at Alabama in 2020, is now the NFL Defensive Player of the Year for the 2024 campaign with the Denver Broncos.
On Wednesday, the NFL Defensive Player of the Year, NFL Offensive Player of the Year, and NFL Most Valuable Player Award winners were announced by the PFWA.
With at least 375 covering snaps, Surtain was the cornerback who gave up the fewest receiving yards in the 2024 NFL season, according to the PFWA. Surtain was already selected for the 2024 All-NFL and All-AFC teams by the PFWA.
Surtain is the fourth cornerback to get the award, which has been given out by the PFWA every year since 1992. The other cornerbacks to win were Stephon Gilmore of the New England Patriots in 2019, Charles Woodson of the Green Bay Packers in 2009, and Deion Sanders of the San Francisco 49ers in 1994.
Former Crimson Tide running backs Shaun Alexander with the Seattle Seahawks in 2005 and Derrick Henry with the Tennessee Titans in 2020 were named the PFWA NFL Offensive Player of the Year, but Surtain is the first Alabama graduate to receive the league’s NFL Defensive Player of the Year award.
Alexander received the 2005 NFL Most Valuable Player Award, which was first given out by the PFWA in 1966 to former Alabama quarterback Bart Starr.
Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens was selected by the PFWA for its NFL MVP Award this season for the second consecutive year. Saquon Barkley of the Philadelphia Eagles was selected as the NFL Offensive Player of the Year.
