Broncos Defense Ranked Concerningly Low by Defensive Expert Entering 2024

The Denver Broncos will have to outkick their coverage on defense, so to speak.

Aug 25, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph during the first quarter against the Arizona Cardinals at Empower Field at Mile High. / Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Most of the questions needing answers this season for the Denver Broncos will revolve around the offense and rookie quarterback Bo Nix. Rightfully so, given the importance of the quarterback position in today’s NFL.

Further adding to the intrigue in Colorado is Nix already has some lofty precedent to live up to for the Broncos. Nix will be the first rookie quarterback to start Week 1 for the illustrious franchise since John Elway back in 1983. Nix is also Sean Payton's only first-round quarterback drafted in his 20 years as an NFL head coach.

The outcome of the season in Denver will likely come down to whether Nix can show he has the goods to be a long-term franchise quarterback for the Broncos.

While the offense still has plenty of questions surrounding the quarterback, with Payton and Nix there does appear to be positive momentum for the offensive side of the football. That has not been the case for the Broncos dating back all the way to their Super Bowl-winning 2015 season.

Having fielded an offense that has finished in the top half of the NFL in EPA/Play once in the last nine seasons (and just barely ranking 16 of 32 in 2019), it's nice for a team that has been mostly led by the defense to have some offensive hope.

Unfortunately for Broncos Country, the excitement on the investments on the offensive side of the ball may have come at the expense of some defensive talent. Denver appears to be in a talent deficit thanks to the Russell Wilson trade and subsequent release which hampered Denver in both draft capital and salary cap space. This lack of assets to add to the defense very well could limit the level of play on that side of the ball this season.

According to Field Vision's Cody Alexander, an author of many popular defensive books, Denver has a bottom-five defense in the NFL entering this season, coming in 28th on his defensive power rankings.

"Vance Joesph has a roster that is not talent-rich and a scheme that tends to be erratic. Outside of CB Pat Surtain, there isn't an elite-level player in the unit," Alexander wrote.

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Many will pin the blame on Joseph should the Broncos wind up with a bottom-tier defense in the NFL this season. Many may even call for his firing if Denver finishes middle of the pack in many defensive metrics.

However, given the Broncos' level of resources, both from salary cap and premium draft selections, on the defensive side of the ball, finishing league average on defense might be a testament to the coaching staff’s ability. It would be hard to argue that the Broncos did not improve their defensive front this offseason.

Adding Malcolm Roach and John Franklin-Meyers to the interior to go with Zach Allen and D.J. Jones as well as a solid rotation at edge with (a healthy) Baron Browning, Jonathon Cooper, Nik Bonnitto, and rookie Jonah Elliss, gives the Broncos talent and depth the defense has severely lacked the past few seasons.

While the group may not have superstar potential, with Zach Allen the only player seemingly likely to garner Pro Bowl attention unless one of the young edge rushers truly pops, the level of depth should allow for rotation and help the Broncos’ defense have a far sturdier backbone than what they have had the last few seasons. The back seven, though, is a different conversation.

There is no doubting Patrick Surtain II. As one of the best defensive players in all of football and arguably the Broncos only certifiable “blue chip” player on the roster, he might be the team’s most important player this season.

This isn’t just due to Surtain's insane talent level, but just how many questionable players exist around him in the secondary. Ja'Quan McMillian showed out well last season overall with a number of takeaways, but his star faded substantially after his hot start (McMillian’s average Pro Football Focus defensive grade Weeks 4-11 was 73.9, plummeting to 52.2 weeks 12-18).

Outside of McMillian, Denver will have three new Week 1 starters in Riley Moss, Brandon Jones, and P.J. Locke. Moss beat out Mathis for cornerback two but will have to prove worthy of playing corner opposite Surtain II as opposing quarterbacks will surely try to throw away from PS2 this season.

While Denver did pay Jones a solid contract in free agency this offseason, he missed a vast majority of the ramp-up period to the season with a hamstring injury, a muscle that can lead to some lingering issues and be a nagging problem all season.

At linebacker, the Broncos do have Alex Singleton returning, who does tend to accumulate tackles at a very high clip. How he will fair now that his former teammate Josey Jewell is gone remains to be seen but Singleton has flashed in preseason and appears to, in the least, be a solid starting option on the whole.

Opposite Singleton, though, is a spot Denver might still be looking to upgrade. Just ask Broncos insider Mike Klis, who stated Denver is looking to add linebacker talent and that “Alex Singleton is very good; other starter is Cody Barton.” Not exactly a ringing endorsement for Denver’s starter.

Bottom Line

The Broncos improved the most important aspect of the defense this year along the trenches and may also have added a very interesting young piece in Jonah Elliss. The talent up front should raise the floor of the defense and allow Denver a baseline to not get steamrolled up front, as has happened a few times in the last few years.

However, the depth of the defense overall, as well as question mark after question mark in the back seven, has the NFL media at large predicting a poor defense in Denver this season. It will be up to the players and coaching staff to go out there and prove them wrong.

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