\u201cSome guys were like, \u2018Dude, you do not look like you belong playing the cornerback position in the National Football League,’\u201d Koerner recalled.<\/p>\n
He never has. Moss knows the story and the stereotypes: first white corner to start in the NFL since 2003<\/a>. He\u2019s had a \u201crunt-of-the-litter\u201d attitude, as Koerner described, since growing up dreaming of playing outside corner in central Iowa. He was a two-star recruit who began his career at Iowa as a preferred walk-on, a track star with little refined football sense. Moss has the word \u201cunderdog\u201d tattooed on his ribs, with the definition scrawled underneath.<\/p>\n He has now become one of the most important pieces of a Broncos defense with championship hopes, primarily because of the guy he\u2019s next to. A guy whose story couldn\u2019t be more different. Pat Surtain II, the NFL\u2019s reigning defensive player of the year, was made for this<\/a>: The son of a Pro Bowl corner, the No. 1 corner in his recruiting class and the gem of Nick Saban\u2019s Alabama program.<\/p>\n Every piece of Surtain\u2019s game has been carved from marble since he was a teenager. Eventually, his high school DB coach and longtime trainer Chad Wilson started calling him \u201cThe Prototype.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a technician,\u201d nickel Ja\u2019Quan McMillian said. \u201cHe just does the same thing over and over again.\u201d<\/p>\n The 25-year-old has now become\u00a0so\u00a0consistent that NFL teams avoid him like never before. The Broncos\u2019 top corner was targeted once by the Titans in Week 1. Such a distribution means opposing quarterbacks will look to the other side of the field nonstop. Manning the mainland across from Surtain Island requires resilience, as defensive coordinator Vance Joseph noted in September. It requires self-belief and a complete lack of fear.<\/p>\n Enter Dirtman.<\/p>\n \u201cIf they make one play,\u201d Joseph said, \u201che\u2019s going to make two.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022\u2022\u2022<\/p>\n Early on in Moss\u2019s Iowa career, he and the rest of the Hawkeyes\u2019 DBs were sitting in a meeting room after practice, watching cut-ups. Hard-nosed defensive coordinator Phil Parker threw on a clip of a Moss play where he\u2019d gambled, jumped a route and just\u00a0managed to tip a ball away.<\/p>\n Parker pointed out that Moss would\u2019ve given up a touchdown if the risk hadn\u2019t paid off. Moss, as Koerner remembered, tossed back a saying his Iowa teammates would come to know all too well.<\/p>\n \u201cScared money don\u2019t make no money,\u201d Moss replied.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, when you\u2019re gambling with\u00a0my\u00a0money,\u201d Parker retorted, as Koerner recalled, \u201cyou need to be able to learn to be protective with it.\u201d<\/p>\n At the same time Moss was rocking an earring and quoting Jeezy<\/a>, Surtain was rounding into an All-American at Alabama. The kid was just\u00a0good at everything\u00a0from \u201cDay One, at least,\u201d as Wilson put it. He came from Florida\u2019s American Heritage High, where the head coach (Mike Rumpf), defensive coordinator (Surtain Sr.) and DBs coach (Wilson) had all played DB in the NFL. Fellow cornerbacks Marco Wilson and Tyson Campbell also went on to play in the NFL.<\/p>\n Surtain worked alongside greatness every day of his career. From American Heritage to Alabama, it molded a corner who has developed technique so perfect that Bengals star wideout Ja\u2019Marr Chase, former great Chad Ochocinco and fellow Bronco Courtland Sutton<\/a> went viral this summer trying to figure out how to beat him. Every rep is the same: Eyes zeroed in on a receiver\u2019s hips, long slide-steps, firm jams at the point of attack.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s the kind of thing that batting champs in baseball are made out of,\u201d said Wilson, who\u2019s trained Surtain every offseason. \u201cLike, a Tony Gwynn, or a Wade Boggs, or any of those kind of guys that have flirted with .400 and just were consistent batting-title winners. Because you have to be so consistent as a batter in baseball.\u201d<\/p>\n Surtain\u2019s challenge now is to \u201cstay sharp,\u201d even as the ball avoids him, the corner said Wednesday. And this Broncos stretch is the first time in the DPOY\u2019s life where he\u2019s been truly isolated, Wilson said. High school teammate Campbell was the No. 2 corner in the country to Surtain\u2019s No. 1. In his All-American season at Alabama in 2020, Surtain\u2019s CB2 was Josh Jobe, the No. 6 corner in the country in that same 2018 class. All carried pedigree. All commanded respect.<\/p>\n And then there\u2019s Moss, who had a runway to understand \u201cwhat it takes to be a professional,\u201d as Parker reflected.<\/p>\n Koerner was a second-year walk-on safety when Moss came to Iowa in 2018. And Koerner didn\u2019t much like him. Moss was gifted with straight-line quickness, but he was hobbled by the fact that he didn\u2019t really know much. He started six games as a freshman off pure athleticism, but he had to turn around and glance at the safety for instruction on most every play.<\/p>\n Parker assigned Koerner to get Moss up to speed. The problem: Parker was also grooming Moss as a safety. At times, Koerner stood behind Moss in walkthroughs, helped him with positioning, and asked himself what the heck he was doing.<\/p>\n Dude, this guy doesn\u2019t know anything, Koener thought. Why am I helping him out? I\u2019m training him to take my spot.<\/p>\n The building knew Moss was an excellent athlete. The building didn\u2019t know if Moss would be an excellent football player. One preceded the other, as Koerner described. He got torched for three touchdowns in a loss to Purdue as a freshman, lost his job and started all of one game the next year. He was not a popular man in Iowa\u2019s fanbase.<\/p>\n Three years later, he broke up 11 passes as a senior, became one of the staples of Iowa\u2019s program and was drafted in the third round by the Broncos. And he and Koerner had become best buds.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody kinda knew that it was only a matter of time until \u2014 you show this guy enough offenses and you get him in the defensive playbook enough, he\u2019s gonna be extremely well-rounded,\u201d Koerner said.<\/p>\n There are hardly any stars attached to Moss\u2019 name. He did not come from a cornerback factory. He was knocked off course several times.<\/p>\n He\u2019s wired perfectly, because of it, to line up opposite The Prototype.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s got, like, a bulletproof confidence about him,\u201d Koerner said. \u201cThey could make him wear a Speedo out there, and he\u2019d still be playing just as well.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022\u2022\u2022<\/p>\n They had their fun in the summers back at Iowa. \u201cThe boys,\u201d as Koerner called them, wandered up to a lake house for weekend benders. They had their nights. And Moss was never one to say no if you needed a guy to have fun with, Koerner cracked.<\/p>\n \u201cMy favorite memories of him,\u201d former Iowa safety Quinn Schulte said, \u201cI probably can\u2019t share with you.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, the life of the party rose each morning, ran wind-sprints up hills, and sweated it out in eight-minute ab workouts.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve never seen somebody who can just, like, show up the next day with a hangover, and he\u2019ll just throw in a chew in his lip and he\u2019ll be the most athletic guy on the field,\u201d Koerner said. \u201cLike, no stretch, no nothing.<\/p>\n \u201cJust show up, lace up the cleats, not even brush the sleep out of his eye, and just be the most twitchy athlete out there.\u201d<\/p>\n No switch flips. Moss is just wired to\u00a0go, in all aspects. He lives \u201cevery day like his last,\u201d as Koerner said. It stands to reason that Moss loves Joseph\u2019s scheme in Denver, as Schulte said, with its heavy doses of man-to-man.<\/p>\n And Moss loves the challenge of playing opposite Surtain, too.<\/p>\n \u201cIt makes it fun to come in to work, knowing it\u2019s on me,\u201d Moss said. \u201cI\u2019m going to be on an island, and what can I do? That\u2019s what I think makes this game so beautiful, and why I love the position that I\u2019m in.\u201d<\/p>\n In Week 1, as the Titans moved No. 1 wideout Calvin Ridley around the formation to get him away from Surtain, Moss chased after rookie No. 2 wideout Elic Ayomanor\u00a0like a puppy after a Frisbee. He was targeted eight times against Tennessee, tied for the fifth-most of any corner in the league, according to Pro Football Focus.<\/p>\n He allowed three catches for just 21 yards and warded off two deep balls to Ayomanor on the same drive.<\/p>\n \u201cI think Riley is very mentally tough,\u201d safety Brandon Jones said. \u201cAnd I think it\u2019s needed at corner.\u201d<\/p>\n In late December, after returning from a month-long absence with an MCL injury, Moss got shredded by Bengals star WR2 Tee Higgins for 101 yards and two touchdowns. It singlehandedly changed the perception of his sophomore year in Denver, after a strong start to his 2024. But Moss was blatant \u2014 quite blatant<\/a> \u2014 about owning a bad day, and went about his offseason with a purpose.<\/p>\n He wanted to get stronger on 50-50 balls. Increase his aggressiveness at the point of attack. So back in Iowa, he trained daily with Koerner and Iowa State alumnus Jake Hummel.<\/p>\n There were no secrets here. No dedicated outside trainers. No incisive overhaul of Moss\u2019 methods. His buddies just \u2026 barked at him in the weight room.<\/p>\n \u201cHis was kind of a \u2014 rag-a-ma-tag, melting pot of a lot of different guys,\u201d Koerner said. \u201cNo one guy could take credit other than Riley himself.\u201d<\/p>\n Before he left Iowa, he had dinner with Parker. The Iowa defensive coordinator watched Moss work one-on-one with former teammate Cooper DeJean, now with the Philadelphia Eagles, at the Hawkeyes\u2019 facility that summer. Parker saw Moss\u2019 maturity in his footwork \u2014 smooth rather than hurried. And Parker saw maturity in his demeanor at that dinner \u2014 now a true goldfish who could shrug off any previous play.<\/p>\n \u201cHe can process things faster now,\u201d Parker reflected, \u201cand understand what he has to do.\u201d<\/p>\n Surtain was born to dominate. Moss was born to scrap.<\/p>\n Still the Prototype, and still the Dirtman, embracing their roles on separate islands in Denver.<\/p>\n![\"Brandon](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/TDP-L-BRONCOS-TITANSAO2_2290x.jpg\")
Brandon Jones (22) of the Denver Broncos celebrates recovering a fumble by Tony Pollard (20) of the Tennessee Titans alongside teammates Riley Moss (21) and Pat Surtain II (2) during the second quarter at Empower Field at Mile High on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz\/The Denver Post)<\/p>\n![\"Iowa](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AP21247784361705.jpg\")
Iowa defensive back Riley Moss (33) returns an interception 30-yards for a touchdown during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Indiana, Saturday, Sept. 4, 2021, in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo\/Charlie Neibergall)<\/p>\n![\"Riley](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1757693412_57_TDP-L-BRONCOS-TITANSAO2_4655x.jpg\")
Riley Moss (21) of the Denver Broncos breaks up a deep pass intended for Elic Ayomanor (5) of the Tennessee Titans during the third quarter at Empower Field at Mile High on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz\/The Denver Post)<\/p>\n![\"Riley](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/TDP-L-BRONCOSA03_7837x.jpg\")
Riley Moss (21) and Pat Surtain II (2) of the Denver Broncos walk during training camp at Broncos Park in Centennial, Colorado on Tuesday, July 29, 2025. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz\/The Denver Post)<\/p>\n