Denver Broncos: Projecting the future years at EDGE
Two things are true here: the Denver Broncos have the best edge duo in the NFL, and they also have an uncertain future at the position as well.
The Denver Broncos defense in the 2021 season will be among the league’s best, and part of that is because of the team’s two stud edge rushers, Von Miller and Bradley Chubb.
However, the future after this season at the position gets a bit cloudy, and I am going to try to make sense of it here.
Let’s get started.
Von Miller is up first.
Von Miller is entering his age-32 season in the NFL and is coming off a serious ankle injury. Many have said he’s lost a step–they cite his respectable 8.0 sacks in 2019 as evidence. However, sacks don’t tell the whole story for pass rushers.
Look, we know how good Von Miller is, and he’s publicly said he wants to play 5-7 more years.
The 2021 NFL season will prove to be the most consequential for Von Miller’s future in Denver. If he produces like we think he should, general manager George Paton may offer him a 2 or 3-year extension to stay with the Denver Broncos.
However, if it’s apparent Von has lost a step and no longer has the juice he once had, he may walk in free agency.
Miller wearing a different jersey would be a shock to us all, but given his age and injury history, it’s very possible.
I’m not sure how well Von Miller will play this season, but he knows and we all know that his contract is up at the end of this season, and he’ll be a true free agent for the first time in his career.
The Denver Broncos are set to have loads of cap space next offseason, but they’ll have younger guys like Bradley Chubb and Courtland Sutton to take care of.
We also can’t forget about players like Dalton Risner and Noah Fant, who would be due for contracts after the 2022 season.
I’m not saying Von Miller won’t be prioritized, but it’s very possible he becomes the odd man out next offseason.
Bradley Chubb is up next. Chubb has played just 34 out of a possible 48 games in his short career.
He tore his ACL in 2019 and battled some lower-body injuries in 2020. It also appears he’s questionable for the Denver Broncos’ first game against the New York Football Giants.
Dare I say that Bradley Chubb is injury-prone?
George Paton has said that he wants to ensure Chubb stays a Bronco for years to come, but will he really shell out the market value for Chubb, which is sure to cross the $20 million/year threshold if he battles injuries all season again?
Given that there’s some uncertainty with Von Miller, my guess is George Paton is going to really want to get a long-term deal done with Chubb, and I bet he already has numbers in mind.
If Bradley Chubb is given an extension, that may soften the blow if they can’t get an extension done with Von Miller.
The blow can be softened even more if the following two players can continue to play well.
The next two players on the edge for the Denver Broncos are Malik Reed and Jonathon Cooper.
Malik Reed is a third-year undrafted player out of Nevada who led the Broncos with 8.0 sacks last year. He also had 17 quarterback hits and a forced fumble.
Reed has a very Shaq Barrett vibe to him, and the Broncos let Barrett walk after the 2018 season.
We saw how that turned out.
Given that John Elway is still involved with the Broncos, and given that George Paton is surely aware of the Broncos recent history, I doubt they would let Reed hit the open market if he shows that he can become, at the very least, a mid-tier edge player in this league.
Reed accumulating 8.0 sacks last year is very impressive, especially given the injuries to the secondary and defensive line.
I’m not saying Reed would ever replace Von Miller, but George Paton might view Reed as a competent starter to pair with Bradley Chubb for 2022 and beyond.
Chubb would get most of the attention along opposing teams’ offensive lines, and that would theoretically allow Reed to weed out the weaker spots and produce respectable sack totals.
I think Malik Reed is a future starter along the offensive line, even if he never develops into a high-end player.
Jonathon Cooper is the last player I want to cover. Cooper, a 7th round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, has been a very pleasant surprise for the Broncos. Cooper’s motor is off the charts–he never takes a play off and had a very nice preseason.
It seems like taking Cooper in the 7th round has been a giant steal so far for the Broncos.
Both Reed and Cooper are very interesting to me. Both players have very desirable qualities as potential starters, but neither player may develop into the Pro Bowl level that we’re using to seeing coming off the edge.
Von Miller’s future also plays a huge factor here. I think it’s rather safe to say Bradley Chubb will get these injuries behind him and become a very good edge rusher for the Broncos for years, but that would leave one starting spot open for the post-Von Miller era.
We must also consider that the Broncos may be in an ideal spot to take an edge rusher in next year’s draft.
If the Broncos end up picking higher in the 2022 draft, they may elect to draft a quarterback and try to keep their elite defense together.
However, if they sneak into the playoffs this year and pick somewhere in the 20s, they may find themselves picking an edge defender.
It’s obviously all a guessing game, but it’s very possible that Von Miller is a Bronco for the next five years, and it’s also possible that one of, or both Malik Reed and Johnathon Cooper are eventually starters.
What do you think, Broncos Country?