The Denver Broncos made a huge investment in defensive lineman Zach Allen when they signed him to a 3-year, $47.75 million free-agent contract in March 2023 — in return Allen has quietly been one of the NFL’s best at his position.
Allen is off to another hot start in 2024 as the Broncos have relied on their defense to start off the season — and established themselves as one of the NFL’s best defensive units — and Allen is leading the NFL in an underrated, important stat.
“No interior defender has more pressures on the season than Allen’s 11 has managed so far,” PFF’s Khlaled Elsayed wrote before Denver’s Week 4 game at the New York Jets on Sept. 29.
Allen is third in the NFL with 3.0 sacks, according to PFF, and could be on track for his first Pro Bowl selection in his sixth season.
Versatile Allen Worked Way Into ‘Elite’ Territory
After earning All-ACC honors at Boston College in 2018, Allen was drafted in the third round (No. 65 overall) by the Arizona Cardinals in 2019.
“Hard-charging defensive end who calls on initial quickness, play strength and outstanding instincts to counter his lack of length and athleticism,” NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote in a pre-draft evaluation. “Allen’s toughness and ability to diagnose quickly could allow him to play early as a run defender, but limitations as a rusher could push him inside on passing downs.”
Allen became a plug-and-play starter for the Cardinals as a rookie but injured his neck in Week 4 and missed the rest of the season. He moved from defensive end to defensive tackle and missed 4 games in 2020 and became a full-time starter at defensive end in 2021. Allen had the best season of his career in 2022 — the final season of his 4-year, $4.75 million rookie contract — with 47 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 10 TFL and 20 QB hits in just 13 games.
Allen responded to his big payday from the Broncos by playing in every regular-season game for the first time in his 5 NFL seasons along with 60 tackles, 5.0 sacks, 8 TFL and a whopping 24 QB hits.
Allen played his last 2 seasons in Arizona opposite 3-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt, who served as a mentor.
“I can really only speak highly about (Watt),” Allen told NFL.com after signing with the Broncos in 2023. “I think I was able to learn from him, obviously, and I’m very fortunate for that. I think last year, it was a really good opportunity. We had great on-field and off-field chemistry and I’m still picking his brain for ideas. He’s helping me pick furniture right now for my new house.”
Broncos Lost Major Piece on Defense
The Broncos will ask even more of Allen moving forward in 2024 after losing linebacker and leading tackler Alex Singleton for the rest of the season after the Broncos announced on Sept. 25 that he’d suffered a torn ACL in a Week 3 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Singleton, who was also the team captain on defense, leads the Broncos with 31 tackles. He played all 57 defensive snaps in the 26-7 win over Tampa Bay even though the Broncos later revealed he tore his ACL on the eighth defensive snap of the game.
