Why it is not the “Beginning of the End” for Von Miller

Pro Football Focus recently proposed that Von Miller is washed up and that the Broncos should look to replace him. Here’s why that is false.

Earlier this week, popular football statistics site Pro Football Focus (PFF) posted a video to their Twitter account, discussing Von Miller’s career and how they believe it has taken a nosedive.

It was pointed out that it was the first year of Miller’s career where he posted less than a 90.0 overall PFF pass rush grade. Last year, they pointed out, Miller finished the season with a 79.0 overall PFF grade, including a 71.0 pass rush grade.

They would go on to point out that Miller is now 31 years old (which he isn’t until later in March) and commented on Miller’s “massive decline” in terms of PFF grade, and even went as far as to say that while Miller still has the capability to generate pressure, it is not “quality” pressure, in their words.

Next, it was pointed out that the Broncos will “lose” their two top secondary players to free agency in Chris Harris Jr and Justin Simmons, and will need to address their wide receiver situation. The video concluded that the Denver Broncos at least need to consider finding another pass rusher to pair with Bradley Chubb and the “shell of Von Miller.”

Now, let’s discuss it ourselves. I, along with much of the sports media community, have always liked and respected PFF, and often use their site for research. However, I am very disappointed with this content they have put out, as it proved to lack any research or evidence outside of their own grading standpoint.

To begin, it appears very basic research was not done for this argument. The Denver Broncos are not in as dire of defensive need as PFF seems to think. While it is true that Chris Harris Jr. will likely be gone, the Broncos have just traded for corner A.J. Bouye, PFF seems to have forgotten that the Broncos intend to franchise tag safety Justin Simmons, so he will not be gone as they seem to think.

It is true that Miller’s stats were not particularly appealing or even sexy in 2019. Therefore, his PFF grade was bound to suffer. However, when viewing film, it is clear that Miller is double-teamed frequently, and even has been triple-teamed. This is the treatment an elite pass rusher gets in the NFL.

The entire pass rush as a unit struggled early. They did not get a sack until Week 4. From that point on, Miller worked to get opportunities for his fellow pass rushers. Miller was involved in the effort to get teammate Derek Wolfe his career high in sacks in 2019. In the absence of Bradley Chubb, guys like Jeremiah Attaochu, Malik Reed and Justin Hollins actually did pretty well, and this was overall a successful unit by the end of the season.

Just because a PFF grade or sack total isn’t what it has been in previous years definitely does not mean that Miller is “washed.” Statistics only tell a partial story, and PFF’s grades do not make or break how a player impacts a team. Von Miller has been an anchor to this Denver defense, and that is not likely to change in the near future.

While PFF is definitely entitled to their own opinion, they provided very little evidence to back their theory that Von Miller is washed up, and it appears that the Broncos are not a team they keep up with much, as the fact that Simmons will be franchise tagged has been out there for a while.

Regardless, it is not “the beginning of the end” for Miller, and I would love to see him go into 2020 with a chip on his shoulder to prove PFF wrong.