The Denver Broncos can breathe a sigh of relief regarding Pat Surtain II. Toward the end of their Week 15 win over the Indianapolis Colts, the Broncos saw Surtain exit the game early with a lower-body injury.
With a short week on the docket, having to play the Los Angeles Chargers this Thursday, the Broncos could be looking at playing that game without their best player. When you consider that Riley Moss has missed the last two games, the biggest storyline going into the game will be centered around how the Broncos' cornerback group will look.
But it sounds like the Broncos avoided a major injury.
Surtain has only a minor ankle sprain and while that could make him iffy for Thursday night, he shouldn't miss any more time beyond that. Fortunately for the Broncos, they saw a rookie perform tremendously on Sunday.
Kris Abrams-Draine steps up when his number is called
The Broncos decided to keep veteran Levi Wallace inactive against the Colts, turning to rookie fifth-round pick Kris Abrams-Draine, who had seen just a handful of snaps all season.
Abrams-Draine came to play. Take a look at this statistic.
#Broncos rookie CB Kris Abrams-Draine gave up one catch for 11 yards on seven targets in 34 coverage snaps vs. Colts, per Next Gen Stats.
— Ryan McFadden (@ryanmcfadden_) December 16, 2024
The former Mizzou defensive back has a bright future ahead of him.
It's still a small sample size for the rookie, but he is off to a good start. The cornerback position is probably the strongest part of Denver's roster with Surtain, Moss, Ja'Quan McMillian, and now, potentially Abrams-Draine.
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