It's odd that Zach Allen is not being talked about as a Defensive Player of the Year, as the stud defensive end is having one of the best seasons in 2024. Allen has played in 15 games this season, so he won't play in all 17 games. Despite this, he is first in the NFL with 39 quarterback hits, and that is eight more than the next player.
Former Sean Payton-draftee Trey Hendrickson is second in the NFL with 31 QB hits, which he has accumulated in 16 games. In third place is Myles Garrett with 28 QB hits. Both Garrett and Hendrickson have played 16 games.
What Zach Allen has done this season is flat-out insane. And if we take his per-game averages for the 16 games he'll likely play this year, Allen would be on pace to finish with:
64 tackles
9 sacks
16 tackles for loss
42 QB hits
Zach Allen is terrorizing offensive lines this year
He's also got 15 tackles for loss, which is the 5th-highest amount in the NFL ahead of Week 18. As you can see, Allen is projected to finish with 64 tackles, nine sacks, 16 tackles for loss, and 42 QB hits. These are insane numbers for an interior player, and we can take this a step further and say that the Broncos must further extend Allen.
HIs current contract will run through the 2025 NFL Season, and he was essentially signed as a replacement for Dre'Mont Jones, who has not been that great during his tenure with the Seattle Seahawks.
But Zach Allen isn't the only viable pass rusher that the Broncos have. Nik Bonitto, Jonathon Cooper, John Franklin-Myers, Jonah Elliss, and Dondrea Tillman all have at least five sacks and six QB hits. It's been an insane year for Denver's pass rush, and this is really just year one of this current defensive set-up with the new additions of JFM and Elliss.
It would be reasonable to think that this defensive front is going to explode in 2025. The Broncos should seek to extend Zach Allen, Nik Bonitto, and also try to find a defensive tackle who has more of a pass-rush threat.
Overall, there isn't much to dislike about the team's pass-rush and defensive front in 2024. It's gone from the worst unit in football in 2023 to a top-3 unit in 2024. Vance Joseph and the players up front deserve a ton of credit for this turnaround, but Zach Allen has especially been outstanding this year.