Zach Allen showed why he deserved a new contract from Broncos during Saturday’s practice

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. –– Zach Allen decided to celebrate the signing of his third and most lucrative NFL contract by wreaking havoc on the best-laid plans of the Denver Broncos’ offense during Saturday’s quasi-scrimmage practice.

He logged two sacks of quarterback Bo Nix. He was a near-constant presence in the backfield. He wreaked havoc on the offense, using his length and quickness. At one point, he pushed All-Pro guard Quinn Meinerz with one arm and wrapped rookie running back RJ Harvey with the other.

His feats of strength were many during the practice, as if he wanted to remind Greg Penner and Carrie Walton Penner that their $69.5 million of guaranteed investment would be money well spent. Not that Allen needed to, but his two-plus years with the Broncos have seen him go above and beyond, so it stood to reason that he’d do the same on a day that tied him to the team for the long haul.

“I just love what we’re building here, and I just can’t state that enough,” Allen said. “It’s all about the culture here. I think that’s kind of why you see how Courtland [Sutton], myself, everything’s being handled right now is because we believe in this team and believe in this organization.

“It really is a blessing to be part of the Denver Broncos organization, be living in Denver.”

Now, the task turns to proving his worthiness of a contract that places him third among interior defensive linemen in guaranteed money and average per-year pay. That’s no problem for a defensive lineman who spent little time basking in the adulation of a career year in which he led the NFL in quarterback hits with an astounding tally of 40 — the most for any interior defensive lineman since Aaron Donald in 2018.

For Allen, that means not standing pat on what he can do. It means looking to expand his repertoire.

“There are always little tweaks, physically there’s always something you can get better at in the gym, and right now experimenting with new things,” Allen said. “This is the time of camp — J.J. [Watt] has been very vocal about this — you just have to try new stuff.

“… I know people around the league are now going to be game-planning and watching my tape because last year I came with this new kind of stance, new little everything. So it’s always trying to find ways to adapt.”

It’s a copycat league, of course. So, either opponents are studying ways to beat you, or they’re finding ways to mimic you. Either way, to stand pat is to fall behind.

Working against a Broncos offensive line that ranked No. 1 in the NFL in run-block win rate and pass-block win rate — a group where that same sort of spring and summer experimentation to expand their game is encouraged — helps facilitate Allen’s quest to constantly find a new edge.

“It’s trying to find new ways to invent yourself and that’s why I’m so appreciative of the guys here because they help me do that every day,” Allen said. “It’s always friendly competition, but also just the learning and the back and forth that comes with it. It’s really exciting.”

PLAY(S) OF THE DAY

No. 3 quarterback Sam Ehlinger punctuated his day with a pair of deep strikes to two undrafted Broncos receivers who have impressed during camp so far — Jerjuan Newton and Courtney Jackson. Newton got deep past the safety, slowing up and then reaching out for the grab on the deep post route. One snap later, Jackson was open down the left flank for his explosive play.

ATTENDANCE REPORT

Edge rusher Que Robinson was held out of practice once again. … Inside linebackers Dre Greenlaw and Drew Sanders (foot) remained sidelined … Fullback Michael Burton was held out of the session … Inside linebacker Alex Singleton (thumb) took part in individual drills.

BRONCOS CAMP NOTES

• It wasn’t quite a scrimmage for the Broncos on Saturday, as Payton and the coaches had the team work on specific down-and-distance situations, but in terms of tempo and tenor, it was the closest the team will come to game conditions on their own as they prepare for a week that will see a joint practice with the San Francisco 49ers next Thursday.
• Cornerback Pat Surtain II picked off Bo Nix, intercepting a pass to the right flank that fell between Courtland Sutton and Pat Bryant.
• Edge rusher Dondrea Tillman generated multiple pressures, but cranked up the run defense as well, bursting into the backfield to close a hole and stop RJ Harvey after he took a handoff from Nix during one second-and-6 play during the second team period of the practice.
• Fellow second-team edge rusher Jonah Elliss had a clear sack and another potential sack under game conditions, and he also recovered a fumble of an errant snap from Luke Wattenberg to Nix.
• Defensive end Matt Henningsen had what would have been a tackle for a loss, bursting through to blow up a handoff to Tyler Badie.
• Punter Jeremy Crawshaw had a solid day. All but two of his punts had hang times of at least 4.35 seconds; two of them exceeded 5.0 seconds. His final punt was downed deep in opposing territory, taking a bounce straight up as it hit the ground, avoiding a bounce into the end zone.
• The first-team offense drove into scoring range during the move-the-ball period, and nearly had a touchdown pass from Nix to Troy Franklin, but he dropped it down the seam in the end zone. That would have been Franklin’s second touchdown of the day; he scored on a pass from Jarrett Stidham earlier in the session.
• Turner-Yell came alive late in practice with three stops on run plays in the penultimate team period of the practices.
• Running back Jaleel McLaughlin said Friday that he felt he was quicker with added weight to push him to 199 pounds, and he looked that way on a cutback gallop through a huge hope on a second-and-5 snap during the first team period for what would have been a long gain under game conditions.
• The practice was a rough one for third-team center Joe Michalski, who had a pair of errant snaps to Ehlinger, including one that sailed over the quarterback’s head and wide of him.

WHAT’S NEXT

A Sunday rest day for the Broncos before returning to the practice field Monday at 10 a.m. MDT.

Related

ESPN: ‘Don’t be surprised’ if a slow Broncos start leads to Payton calling playsBracing for who gets ranked ahead of Bo Nix on the NFL’s Top 100For Broncos running back RJ Harvey, second-year improvement starts with film studyReport: Broncos ‘likely’ bringing back coach after charges were droppedBroncos QB Bo Nix moves up NFL Top 100 list, cracks top-60Why does Davis Webb need to simplify the Broncos’ playbook?