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The Denver Broncos turned heads this spring when they had star cornerback Pat Surtain line up to catch punts during minicamp this spring.
Don’t worry, Surtain won’t be the team’s starting punt returner this season. Ben Kotwica, Denver’s special teams coordinator, explained last week that Surtain is merely being considered as a fallback option.
“You’re always looking for depth at various positions, whether it be a core player or somebody on the perimeter,” Kotwica said on June 14. “Here in the spring, you’re trying different things. Now is the time to try a different formation in your punt game or try a fake. Pat going back there to catch punts was something that we wanted to explore.
“The cool thing about Pat is that he wants to be part of special teams. Coach Payton, Coach [Mike] Westhoff and myself made it an emphasis, and Coach Payton is one of the best teachers I’ve ever seen, whether it’s offense, defense, situational ball, and even special teams. Everybody is buying in, so it’s really cool to see that out of Pat.”
Surtain returned punts in high school, but he did not have that role in college. Broncos rookie wide receiver Marvin Mims seems to be the early favorite to return punts this season — Surtain is just a backup candidate.
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