Denver Broncos may have their alpha pass-rusher despite Week 1 loss

The Denver Broncos pass rush was alive and well despite their Week 1 loss against the Seattle Seahawks. Does the team have their alpha off the EDGE now? Going into the 2024 NFL Offseason, it was clear that the pass rush needed to be better, but there were some encouraging signs in 2023. Jonathon Cooper and Nik Bonitto each broke out a bit.

Cooper led the way with 8.5 sacks, followed by Bonitto with 8.0. Both players showed a lot of growth in 2023, and the ideal scenario here is that one (or both) of them can take that next step into being that alpha pass-rusher that Denver has missed for years now. Well, while the Broncos only notched two sacks on the day, they were constantly, and I mean constantly getting pressure on Geno Smith.

The two sacks went to Jonathon Cooper, the Denver Broncos seventh-round draft pick in 2021. Cooper has gradually gotten better each year of his NFL career, and it could be year four where Cooper truly shines. Among all the Broncos pass-rushers, it feels like Cooper is the fastest, most explosive, and has the highest motor.

Denver also added to their EDGE group this offseason, taking a similar style of player in Jonah Elliss in the 2024 NFL Draft. The EDGE room is young and still not fully proven, but after watching Cooper in Week 1, if any pass-rusher on the Broncos roster ends up being that "alpha" that they've missed for years, it's Cooper.

This would be amazing news for the Broncos and would help out their entire defense. Denver would likely have to extend Cooper on a lucrative contract extension, but that's exactly what they should hope to do months down the line.

The defense largely played well today, but did get battered on the ground in the second half. The offense not being able to sustain drives put more pressure on the defense, so that must be considered here. If the offense was playing more average today, I bet the defense would have notched a few more sacks.

Cooper made all 17 starts in the 2023 NFL Season, and has not reason to not make all 17 starts this year. He appears to be the Broncos best pass-rusher and might just be that alpha off the edge that the Broncos have desperately missed. It's actually kind of ironic considering he was a seventh-round pick, but here we are.