The Denver Broncos are about a month away from having to make a decision one way or the other on former Super Bowl MVP Von Miller.
Up to this point, many in Broncos Country have tried as hard as possible to avoid the topic or just believe that someway, somehow, Miller would re-work his contract with the team to remain a Bronco for life.
While there is still the possibility of that happening, there is also a possibility that the team would decline Miller’s contract option (which, frankly, seems likely) and let him hit free agency. That means the Denver Broncos could be in the market for pass rushers in free agency, even after Bradley Chubb’s Pro Bowl campaign in 2020 and Malik Reed’s fine season in relief of Miller.
Even considering Reed’s strong season in 2020, the Denver Broncos would undoubtedly need to pursue upgrades through free agency should Miller get away.
Fortunately for them, there are a ton of options that would make sense, and teams have barely started making salary cap cuts up to this point.
Let’s take a look through the top free agency options, which won’t include Buccaneers star Shaquil Barrett because does anyone really think he’s coming back to Denver?
Denver Broncos top targets at OLB in 2021 free agency
Bud Dupree didn’t get off to the hottest start with the Pittsburgh Steelers as a first-round draft pick in 2015, but he showed steady improvement over the course of his first three years with the team.
The Steelers picked up Dupree’s fifth-year option and they have seen tremendous fruit in their investment in the former Kentucky Wildcat, who has really blossomed over the last couple of seasons into one of the better all-around edge players in the NFL.
Dupree has 19.5 sacks, 32 QB hits, and 56 quarterback pressures over his last 27 games. He tore his ACL in the 2020 season and coming off of injury, who knows what his free agent market will be like?
Despite some thoughts to the contrary, Dupree doesn’t seem likely to take a huge discount to stay with the cap-strapped Pittsburgh Steelers.
https://twitter.com/Bud_Dupree/status/1354578956150853636
At the age of 28, Dupree still has plenty of good years ahead of him. Teams will be understandably leery of the knee injury from this past season, but there is no doubt that if he is at full strength, he would be a tremendous fit opposite Bradley Chubb.
If the Denver Broncos let Von Miller go, it might be ideal to have someone come into the building who knows Vic Fangio’s defense rather intimately already.
One such player — Rams free agent Leonard Floyd — just happens to be hitting free agency for the second straight year.
Floyd was a first-round pick of the Chicago Bears when Fangio was their defensive coordinator, and although he didn’t become a 10-sack per season player overnight in Fangio’s defense, he blossomed in his first season under Brandon Staley with the Rams.
In 2020, Floyd racked up a career-high 10.5 sacks, 19 QB hits, and 30 total pressures. He also had a career-high 11 tackles for loss. Another attractive quality of Floyd’s? He hasn’t missed a game in over three years.
He has developed a solid all-around skillset and his pass rush numbers blooming in 2020 could be a positive sign of things to come.
Given the fact that Floyd has history with Fangio and has been playing in this defense his entire career, bringing him in to replace Von Miller is one of the more logical options available to the Denver Broncos if the Rams are unable to retain him.
When Haason Reddick was coming out of Temple as a hybrid off-ball/pass-rushing linebacker, some analysts threw out discount Von Miller comparisons.
Reddick certainly had the toughness and athletic profile to earn those comps before he was selected, but it’s been tough sledding for him with the Arizona Cardinals and multiple defensive scheme changes.
After the Cardinals declined Reddick’s fifth-year option, the former Temple star exploded in Vance Joseph’s defense with 12.5 sacks, 16 QB hits, 15 tackles for loss, and 34 pressures.
With his versatility, do the Broncos give him a look in free agency? He’s certainly earned the intrigue from prospective buyers but there is also understandable concern over the potential of this past season being just an outlier.
Although his sack production was spread throughout the season, it’s worth noting that five — yes five — of Reddick’s 12.5 sacks this past season came in one game.
From weeks 14-16, Reddick was able to force all six of his forced fumbles from last season. There has always been plenty from Reddick for NFL teams to like but what he showed in the 2020 season is basically what everyone who liked him coming out in the 2017 NFL Draft had hoped to see from day one.
If nothing else, Baltimore Ravens outside linebacker Matt Judon has been a model of consistency over the past four seasons.
He has played in all but four games over his first five years in the NFL and while his numbers are not out-of-this-world, Judon has been consistently productive.
On a per-16 game basis, Judon averages seven sacks, and 22 QB hits per season in addition to 11 tackles for loss.
That kind of consistency — Judon also averages over 32 QB pressures over the last three years — would be a welcomed addition to the Denver Broncos’ defensive front.
At the age of 28, Judon has good football ahead of him and his veteran presence would help everyone else succeed.
Even though he doesn’t have the same type of flash to his game as Von Miller, Judon is undoubtedly strong both as a pass rusher and run defender. He was the subject of some tag-and-trade rumors last year around this time, so there is no guarantee obviously that the Ravens would bring him back.
There would definitely be a lot of competition for Judon’s services, but he would be a very nice get for the Denver Broncos.
Ngakoue is 25 going on 26 and he has already been on three different teams in the last calendar year.
The former Maryland pass rusher was franchise tagged by the Jacksonville Jaguars, traded to the Minnesota Vikings, and then traded by the Vikings in-season to the Baltimore Ravens.
Despite playing just six games for the Vikings, Ngakoue ended up leading the team in sacks.
He finished the year with eight sacks, 26 total pressures, 11 QB hits, and four forced fumbles in total between the Vikings and Ravens. He wasn’t able to record any sacks in the Ravens’ two postseason games, but the potential is obvious with Ngakoue.
The Vikings had aims of pairing him with Danielle Hunter for the long-term but as soon as that seemed like a distant possibility, the Vikings had to look at Ngakoue as a sunk cost and get back what they could for him.
The interesting thing here is the fact that George Paton, the Denver Broncos’ GM, was with the Vikings when they traded a second-round pick for Ngakoue. They obviously assumed that would be a late second-round pick when they made the deal, but as they started losing games they had to be kicking themselves.
Ngakoue has long wanted a situation where a team would buy into him long-term. Would that team be the Denver Broncos? One of the youngest pass rushers on the market with huge potential (51 total pressures in 2018 along with 33 QB hits and 9.5 sacks), this is one player who might be worth the long-term investment and price tag.
Denver Broncos possible FA targets if Von Miller leaves
Trey Hendrickson, Saints (age 26)
In the compensatory range of the third round (103rd overall) the New Orleans Saints built upon what will (and should) go down as one of the best drafts in the last 20-30 years by selecting pass rusher Trey Hendrickson.
Hendrickson was a rotational player through his first three NFL seasons before blowing up in year four to the tune of 13.5 sacks, 33 total pressures, and 25 quarterback hits along with 12 tackles for loss.
Is Hendrickson a scheme fit for Vic Fangio’s defense? If the Denver Broncos believe he can be, they should buy into Hendrickson’s potential. He would be an exciting free agent pickup for any team.
Jadeveon Clowney, Titans (age 28)
The Denver Broncos could have signed Jadeveon Clowney this past year when Von Miller went down with injury, but they opted against it. Clowney’s scheme and positional versatility would make him a very intriguing dart throw this offseason.
He has just three sacks in his last 21 games including zero sacks with the Titans this past year.
Ryan Kerrigan, Washington Football Team (age 32)
If the Broncos are looking for a one-year patch at the position, they could do worse than Ryan Kerrigan. Kerrigan came into the NFL the same year as Von Miller and has been very productive out in Washington, averaging 10 sacks and three forced fumbles per 16 games.
Justin Houston, Colts (age 32)
The former Kansas City Chiefs star might be ring chasing at this stage of his career. He’s been one of the most productive pass rushers in the NFL over the last decade.
Takk McKinley, Raiders (age 25)
Although things clearly did not work out for him in Atlanta, McKinley is a young former first-round draft choice whose upside remains.
Denver Broncos: 8 free agent linebacker options in 2021
The Denver Broncos could look for upgrades at the linebacker position through free agency in 2021. There are a number of intriguing options available.
He never played more than 57 percent of Atlanta’s defensive snaps in a given season and still managed 38 QB hits, 16.5 sacks, and 21 tackles for loss.