To get an idea of the unique talent that is Pat Surtain II, all you have to do is look at the variety of pass-catchers the Broncos asked him to cover this season.

The list includes speed merchants, wily vets, young guns and big, physical specimens. There were five Pro Bowlers, including tight ends young (Las Vegas’ Brock Bowers) and old (Kansas City’s Travis Kelce), precision route-runners like Cincinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase and Baltimore’s Zay Flowers, and even a former pro and college teammate in Cleveland’s Jerry Jeudy.

The one thing they all had in common: Surtain consistently locked them up.

“The film doesn’t lie,” Broncos safety P.J. Locke told The Denver Post. “What we ask Pat to do, I don’t think no other cornerback in the league does.”

And that’s why, Locke says, Surtain is the clear choice as the NFL’s Defensive player of the Year.

“It’s very evident who should win,” he said.

Surtain’s numbers alone make him a strong candidate.

In 16 games, he totaled 45 tackles, 11 passes defended and four interceptions, including a pick-six. Among cornerbacks with 300 coverage snaps, he was second in yards allowed (306) and passer rating (59.1), according to NFL’s Next Gen Stats. Surtain — a two-time first-team All-Pro selection — did not allow 50 or more receiving yards in any single game after doing so six times in 2023.

Surtain’s value, however, transcends stats. The Broncos’ defense has been one of the best in the league, and Surtain is the key to it all. He’s an integral part of Denver’s game plan, from how the unit blitzes to dictating where the quarterback goes with the ball.

“If we place Pat at a certain spot on the field, the ball never goes there,” Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said. “For a coordinator, it’s perfect for me.”

Cornerbacks rarely win Defensive Player of the Year. In fact, only two since 2009 have won the award — Stephon Gilmore and Charles Woodson.

An edge rusher has taken the award home three straight years, and there’s a handful competing for it again in 2024. Among them are Cleveland’s Myles Garrett (14 sacks, 84 pressures), Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt (11.5 sacks, 49 pressures) and Minnesota’s Andrew Van Ginkel (11.5 sacks, 50 pressures).

But Surtain has a chance to change that. He ended the regular season with the best odds win the award. And for those wondering why, his teammates have a simple message: Roll the tape.

“If you can’t put on the film and think he doesn’t deserve it, then people who are voting on it probably shouldn’t be voting,” defensive tackle Malcolm Roach said.

Surtain loves playing in man coverage, especially against the best.

Matching up against those five Pro Bowlers — Flowers, Jeudy, Chase, Kelce and Bowers — Surtain gave up a combined six catches for 56 yards and a passer rating of 8.3 on 16 targets (92 routes), according to Next Gen Stats.

He also held Tampa Bay wide receiver Mike Evans to one catch for eight yards in Week 3, and New York Jets receiver Garrett Wilson to two catches for 22 yards on three targets the following week.

“Aaron Rodgers looks out wide (at) Garrett Wilson and there’s Pat throwing a net all over him,” NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger told The Post. “Quarterbacks get their eyes off of (Surtain) pretty fast.”

Added safety JL Skinner: “You have a better chance of throwing at the ground than throwing at Pat.”

Surtain’s ability to lock down pass catchers cuts the field in half. This season, Surtain was targeted on just 10.9% of his coverage snaps, the lowest rate among 83 cornerbacks with at least 300 coverage snaps, according to Next Gen Stats.

That puts more pressure on cornerbacks Ja’Quan McMillian and Riley Moss, who finished fourth and sixth respectively in targets in the league. At the same time, it aids Denver’s game planning because it allows the defense to anticipate which side of the field the ball is likely going to.

“There’s so many times in practice where you’re like ‘I would love to throw this route, but probably not going to,’” said Stidham, who played with Gilmore in New England when the 34-year-old cornerback won Defensive Player of the Year. “Sometimes we’re trying to make an emphasis of throwing to a certain player, but Pat is matching him. That’s a challenge (because) it’s really tough to fit (the ball) in there.”

Surtain thriving in man coverage also played a role in Denver’s pass-rush success. While Surtain had defenders on an island, the front seven was afforded time to pressure the quarterback.

The Broncos utilized man blitzes at the second-highest rate (24.5%) in the league. The Broncos were second in pressures (101) and third in sacks (23) in man coverage, according to Next Gen Stats.

“There are times when the defense gets sacks off good coverage,” inside linebacker Justin Strnad said. “When you have Pat, who’s locking his guy down, it gives those guys rushing the passer an extra second or an extra half second to get that sack.”

Surtain isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty, either. When playing against teams like the Chargers, whose identity is running the ball, he is not a liability when on the field.

“There’s a lot of corners that can lock down receivers but don’t tackle,” Baldinger said. “He’s not there to just defend passes. He’s there to play defense.”

An underrated aspect of Surtain’s impact has been his confidence and competitiveness — traits that have translated to the rest of the secondary. He also has been a good teacher, especially for quarterback Bo Nix, who is constantly in his teammate’s ear, wanting to learn cornerback instincts and why they do certain things.

“I’ll never forget — this was in OTAs I believe and going against Pat — he almost crossed the entire field and almost cut an in-cut. He had to pass through certain guys, and it was impressive hearing his explanation,” Nix said. “You don’t really hear that language much.

“That’s pretty much when I knew I was in the NFL and everybody was kind of up to that standard.”