Pat Surtain II: Broncos Have Set a High Standard for Jahdae Barron

During the Denver Broncos' mandatory minicamp, defensive coordinator Vance Joseph gushed about the team's rookie first-rounder, Jahdae Barron, calling the cornerback a "can't-miss" draft pick. Head coach Sean Payton was excited to see that everything the Broncos identified on tape was showing up on the practice field.

It remains to be seen exactly where Barron will play in 2025. It could be on the boundary or the nickel, but one position that Payton has already ruled out for the versatile defensive backs is safety.

On Saturday, Broncos All-Pro cornerback Patrick Surtain II held his youth football camp with 300 kids in attendance. Surtain even had a few teammates show up to help, like P.J. Locke and JL Skinner.

Surtain held court with local reporters, and it didn't take long for Barron's name to come up.

"He's good. He's catching on really well," Surtain said of Barron, via DNVR's Zac Stevens. "Obviously, at Texas, he was a smart, savvy player that understood the game very well. That'll translate well to our defense. I'm excited for him."

Barron is the reigning Jim Thorpe Award winner, which recognizes the best defensive back in college football each year. Aside from his versatility, he's a very instinctual player with a sky-high football IQ.

Don't sleep on Barron's physicality, either. He may be three inches shorter than Surtain at 5-foot-11, but Barron can break up a pass, tackle, and hit in equal measure. The former Longhorns star is also one heck of a ballhawk.

Barron should fit in well with this Broncos defense that is already being projected as the NFL's best. The guys on defense have seen a lot of live-bullet action together, and they achieved a lot last year, leading the league in sacks and producing the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year.

The expectations placed on Barron will be high, if he's to see the field right away. And it seems that's the plan for Denver's first-round pick.

Surtain understands that it won't be easy for the rookie. But part of the reason the Broncos will hold Barron to such a high standard is because his teammates believe he's good enough to meet them.

"It could be difficult, but that's the expectations we set on him. That's the bar we set on him because, obviously, he's a good player," Surtain said of Barron. "He's going to do a lot of work for us. At the end of the day, it's all about, I guess, him learning all of those positions because he's able to do that, as well."

The elephant in the room at this late stage in the offseason is Barron's unresolved contractual status. He's yet to sign his contract with the Broncos, and he's not the only one. Second-round running back RJ Harvey also remains unsigned.

As a show of good faith and a signal of their football character, that unresolved status didn't keep either rookie from participating fully in the Broncos' entire offseason training program. This team knew exactly what it was doing in drafting the players that it did.