Broncos defensive line improved, but long-term questions remain

The Broncos exist in a league that is defined in many ways by a cliché that lingers because of its accuracy: that NFL actually stands for “Not For Long.”

And for the Broncos’ defensive line, those words ring true.

A focus last year when the cap-strapped Broncos added two key players in Malcolm Roach and John Franklin-Myers, it produced one of the team’s standout players — Zach Allen — and was responsible for much of the team’s run-stuffing improvement until the final weeks of the season and into the playoffs.

Allen and Franklin-Myers together upgraded the pass rush, with the latter helping draw enough attention to turn Allen loose for a season that saw him lead the NFL in quarterback hits with 40 — nearly twice as many as he had in 2023, when he had 24 hits of opposing passers.

Together with D.J. Jones, who found his form against the run, they led the way in making the defensive line arguably the most-improved unit on the roster.

But Jones Is set to become an unrestricted free agent next month. Roach, Franklin-Myers and Allen all head into contract years in 2025.

“Not for long,” indeed.

WHERE THE BRONCOS DEFENSIVE LINE STANDS

STARTERS:

• John Franklin-Myers
• Zach Allen
• D.J. Jones

Both Allen and Franklin-Myers had career-high sack tallies in 2024, working well together. They were durable and dependable, combining for just one game missed between them. They played well off of each other — as an interior pass-rushing duo, they were the Broncos’ best combination since Malik Jackson and Derek Wolfe during the team’s 2015 run to Super Bowl 50.

But for Jones, it was also his finest season since joining the Broncos, as he was one of the league’s most disruptive presences against the run. He ranked ninth in the NFL among interior defensive linemen in run stops, as compiled by Pro Football Focus. But with one run stop every 8.89 opportunities, Jones ranked fourth among 104 interior defensive linemen with at least 150 run-stop chances.

Allen wants that presence back.

“D.J. was huge for us,” Allen said. “I mean, he honestly — it’s been — he’s one of my favorite teammates ever, both off the field and on. What he does for us on first, second down is huge.

“And the energy he just brings to work every day is awesome. So, obviously, it’s a business, but selfishly, I’d love to keep playing with him.”

The question now is this: Do the Broncos prioritize him enough to bring him back for a fourth season?

 

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RESERVES:

• Malcolm Roach
• Enyi Uwazurike
• Jordan Jackson

Roach made just one start compared with Jones’ 17, but he actually played more snaps — 489 to Jones’ 465 over the course of the season.

Expected to improve the Broncos’ form against the run, he didn’t disappoint; among the afore-mentioned 104 interior defensive linemen with at least 150 run-stop opportunities, Roach’s rate of one stop every 10.1 snaps was 10th, per data compiled by Pro Football Focus.

He would have led the NFL in that statistic in 2023, but he had just 132 run-stop chances in his final season with the New Orleans Saints, 90 fewer than he had with the Broncos.

With Roach and Jones, the Broncos were one of just two teams with two top-10 interior defensive linemen in run-stop rate.

And Roach provided something more: an infectious personality and leadership. Roach was of the team’s most vocal players, and became a tone-setter in the defensive-line room, keeping spirits high.

Roach was one of the products of the Broncos’ careful approach to the 2024 offseason, necessitated by cap constraints. Like nearly all of their moves last year, the team’s judicious approach paid off; with Roach, they chose wisely, and he was vital in making the team’s chemistry so fruitful.

“What made the locker room special was the people, the people in It,” Jones said. “I mean I’ve been in a lot of locker rooms, had the opportunity to be around a lot of guys. Great guys, great teammates. And I think this is one of the more tight-knit locker rooms I’ve been around.”

Jackson provided steady rotational depth after a summertime charge allowed him to make the team. Uwazurike saw only occasional action in his first season back after serving a suspension in 2023; he played 63 snaps over four games. The 6-foot-6, 320-pounder has splendid athleticism, but the picture has yet to come together for him in a way to move him up the ladder.

Defensive end Matt Henningsen and nose tackle Jordan Miller also signed reserve-future contracts after spending the season on the practice squad. Henningsen has been with the Broncos in some capacity since being drafted in 2022.

EXPIRING CONTRACTS:

• D.J. Jones

The concern here is two-fold.

In the moment, it revolves around Jones, who played out the entire length of the three-year contract he received from general manager George Paton during the 2022 offseason. Jones is one of just two members of that year’s 9-man free-agent class who remains with the team; Alex Singleton is the other.

But the expiring contracts of Allen, Franklin-Myers and Roach in 2025 could contribute to the Broncos’ draft strategy.

Seventy-three defensive linemen received Combine invitations this year — a 46-percent increase from last year’s tally of 50, revealing the depth that the broad sample size of NFL talent evaluators believes to exist in this year’s draft class. That group includes edge rushers, but the overall depth and breath of this year’s crop of interior defensive linemen makes it a good year to add at least one via the draft.

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