Broncos DE Zach Allen Could be Poised for a Break-Out 2024 Campaign

Zach Allen was the Denver Broncos' lone bright spot on the defensive line last year, but what does the future hold?

Oct 8, 2023; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos defensive end Zach Allen (99) celebrates his sack in the first quarter against the New York Jets at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports / Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

When the Denver Broncos hired Vance Joseph to serve as defensive coordinator, the team strategically identified defensive end Zach Allen as a potential game-changer in free agency. The Broncos swiftly secured this 'rising star' with a contract worth $45.75 million over three years, aiming to fortify the defensive line.

Despite initial concerns, Allen proved his worth and had a stellar season, solidifying his position as one of the premier interior defensive linemen in the NFL. The Arizona Cardinals selected Allen in the third round of the  2019 NFL draft out of Boston College.

While his rookie season wasn’t the best, as Allen only played 144 snaps on defense and picked up four pressures, he showed improvement in his second year, picking up 18 pressures and two sacks on 505 snaps played on defense. 

Allen showed the consistent improvements you want to see from developing players year in and year out. He saw 727 snaps in Year 3 with 26 pressures and four sacks. In the final year of his rookie contract, he played 660 snaps and picked up 35 pressures and six sacks. 

The Broncos quickly jumped on Allen in free agency. He spent his entire career playing under Joseph in Arizona and continued with his first year in Denver.

It was a rough start for Allen in Denver, as he struggled in his preseason action and that continued in the season's first three weeks. With only three pressures three games in, including none in Denver's blowout loss to the Miami Dolphins, there was plenty of concern about wasted money. 

Over the remaining 14 weeks of the season, Allen picked up 57 pressures and seven sacks, with 23 pressures and four sacks coming from Weeks 4-9. That only covers his improvement as a pass rusher, but he also improved as a run defender and didn’t have any penalties the remainder of the season, after two in the first three weeks. 

Allen was the only constant on the Broncos defensive line. Denver had a rotation going, but Allen played 913 snaps on defense, and no other defensive linemen played more than 570. He was also one of 20 NFL defensive linemen to play 775 snaps or more. 

Compared to those other 20 players, Allen was tied for the ninth-most pressures, tied for 10th in total sacks, ninth in total tackles, eighth in lowest missed-tackle percentage, and ninth in stops, per Pro Football Focus. He ranked in the middle of the pack while currently being the 21st highest-paid interior defensive lineman in terms of average per year. 

When you look at pass rush specifically, there were 15 NFL players with at least 500 pass-rush snaps, and Allen ranked seventh in pass-rush productivity and ninth in pass-rush win percentage. As for run defense, there were 13 defensive linemen with at least 325 run defense snaps. Allen had the fourth-highest run defense grade per PFF while also being sixth in stops, seventh in stop percentage, and third-lowest average depth of tackle. 

Bottom Line

While Allen didn’t finish as an elite defensive lineman in 2023, he ended up being one of the better as a top 10 player at his position. The Broncos can get even more out of Allen this coming season, especially with the addition of John Franklin-Myers to help take some attention away from him.

It was a one-man show on the Broncos defensive line last year, with Allen getting no consistent help. Now that he has someone who can shoulder some of the load, both as a pass rusher and as a run defender, he should take another step forward for the Broncos. 

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