PFF is up to their antics again, as their defensive line rankings are a huge slap in the face to the Denver Broncos.
The Broncos do indeed have the best defensive line in the NFL. Not only did the run defense improve, but they also led the league in sacks. The DL honestly got better this offseason. The Broncos drafted Sai'vion Jones and Que Robinson in the 2025 NFL Draft, and other backups like Jonah Elliss and Dondrea Tillman could take a step forward.
All of Zach Allen, Nik Bonitto, Jonathon Cooper, and John Franklin-Myers had the best seasons of their career in 2024 and may only get better heading into the 2025 season. With all of that said, you would think that PFF had a very high ranking for the Broncos defensive line, right?
Well, I've got some news for you...
PFF ranks the Broncos defensive line 8th in the NFL
Here is Zoltay Buday of PFF on the Broncos eighth ranking for 2025:
"The Broncos' defensive line might be the deepest in the league, with seven players ranking among the top 50 at their respective positions in PFF overall grade in 2024. Denver's defense generated pressure on a league-leading 40.7% of plays without blitzing, showing what the defensive line is capable of.Zoltan Buday
The unit is led by interior defenders John Franklin-Myers and Zach Allen. The former generated pressure on 14.7% of pass plays, which ranked second among interior defenders, while the latter's 13.2% clip ranked seventh at the position."
When you read what they have to say, it honestly contradicts the ranking, doesn't it? Buday notes that the team could have the deepest DL in the NFL and were also the best at generating pressure without blitzing. He also drops in a statistic about Zach Allen and John Franklin-Myers, and the DE duo ranked second and seventh, respectively, at their position.
It's actually hilarious - Denver also led the NFL in sacks, and when reading PFF's argument here, you'd think that they'd have the Broncos ranked first. Furthermore, Denver allowed the third-fewest rushing yards in the NFL last year. They allowed 3.9 yards per carry, which was the second-lowest in the league, and the 10 rushing scores they allowed was the third-fewest.
When you look at the statistics above and the ones that PFF provides, it all paints a much different picture than the eighth ranking may indicate. This is yet another awful ranking by PFF regarding the Denver Broncos, but what else is new?