The Denver Broncos may have an all-star pass rusher on their team with EDGE Jonathon Cooper, so they should already think about extending him. Cooper might just be the alpha rusher that Denver has been missing for multiple years now. In Week 1 against the Seattle Seahawks, Cooper had two sacks, two tackles for loss, and four QB hits.
He was a total menace and was all over the field. Part of what has made Cooper so great lately is his motor and explosiveness. He may be one of the fastest EDGE rushers in the NFL, and even as an outside linebacker in 2023, managed to rack up 72 total tackles. A seventh-round pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, Cooper may actually be George Paton's best draft pick.
Across his last nine games dating back to 2023, Jonathon Cooper has six sacks, seven tackles for loss, and nine QB hits. And dating back the last 18 games to the start of the 2023 NFL Season, he's got 10.5 sacks, 10 tackles for loss, and 17 QB hits. Now in year four, this should end up being the most productive year of his NFL career.
And at risk of him playing his way into a larger contract that Denver can't match, they should consider a more modestly-priced extension right now. Denver was able to extend their two best players from this draft class in Patrick Surtain II and Quinn Meinerz, who are obvious building blocks.
Surtain is the best CB in the NFL, and Meinerz is a top-5 guard in the league. Cooper is turning into an above-average, legitimate pass-rush threat before our eyes. Denver also took EDGE Baron Browning in the 2021 NFL Draft, but Browning has dealt with injuries and has not established himself quite like Cooper has.
Denver has yet another young pass-rusher in Nik Bonitto who took a huge leap in 2023. He finished with eight sacks, 13 tackles for loss, and 20 QB hits. Denver may also be in a scenario to extend Bonitto as well, so it would be wise for the team to try and lock up at least one of them during the 2024 season.
Cooper has turned into the more consistent pass-rusher, so I believe an extension for Cooper now would not only save Denver money, but it would give them a better chance to keep Nik Bonitto around as well. Baron Browning is an interesting case. He's a free agent following the season, but Denver may be able to find similar or better production from Jonah Ellis, so I would not be shocked to see Denver head into 2025 without Browning and with Cooper, Bonitto, and Elliss.
And if the Broncos want to try and load up next offseason, there is also nothing that would stop them from trying to add yet another great pass-rusher to this room.