The Denver Broncos have paid just about everyone along the defensive and offensive line, as their normal five starting OL players are all under contract on big-time deals. Ben Powers has missed some time this year, so he has not started since October, but with the Broncos extending Luke Wattenberg, all five normal players are getting paid well.
The defensive line is similar as well. Denver actually extended DT Malcolm Roach during the bye week and have also recently signed other players in DJ Jones, Zach Allen, Nik Bonitto, and Jonathon Cooper to extensions. With Denver being in a very strong financial position and having a QB on his rookie deal, the time to spend is now.
The time is indeed now to maximize this window that they will have for a few more seasons before a likely Bo Nix extension hits the books after the 2026 NFL Season. Well, there is a huge player along the DL that has not gotten an extension yet, and he is slated to hit the FA market in 2026. Zach Allen recently made his stance crystal clear on this player.
Zach Allen has a not-so-subtle message about John Franklin-Myers
Here is Zach Allen talking about John Franklin-Myers:
#Broncos DT Zach Allen said he's "forever grateful" for John Franklin-Myers.
— Parker Gabriel (@ParkerJGabriel) December 15, 2025
Allen talks often and reiterated today that it's no coincidence his play took off when JFM got to Denver. He believes firmly in the need to have multiple disruptive interior players.
It is abundantly clear where Zach Allen stands on JFM, an underrated player and someone who is in his second year with the Denver Broncos. Franklin-Myers came over in a trade with the New York Jets, and he signed a deal that takes him through the 2025 campaign.
Denver has known that JFM would be a free agent in 2026, and they might not extend him at this rate, as they took Sai'vion Jones in the 2025 NFL Draft to potentially takeover for him, and no NFL team can pay everyone.
John Franklin-Myers is clearly a fan favorite, but if Denver hasn't extended him now, they might let him cash-in with another team. However, Allen is pretty open when he said that his play did take off when JFM arrived.
That surely isn't a coincidence, either. Allen now has 80 total QB hits over the past two seasons, as no player in the league has gotten to the QB more often than Allen since 2024. Franklin-Myers has 5.5 sacks, five tackles for loss, and 13 QB hits this year. In 31 games for the Denver Broncos, JFM has 12.5 sacks, 13 tackles for loss, and 31 QB hits.
John Franklin-Myers is such a solid player and has been excellent for the Denver Broncos. The Broncos can afford to extend him, but he could price his way out of Denver. Zach Allen clearly wants him back, though.