Throughout the 2025 NFL season, SB Nation’s Doug Farrar will be writing about the game’s secret superstars, players whose performances may have been overlooked for one reason or another. In this installment, it’s time to catch up with Denver Broncos pass rusher Zach Allen, who may be the most underrated interior defensive lineman of his era.
JJ Watt would probably agree.
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Sacks determine the velocity of public awareness when it comes to pass rushers, but they don’t tell the whole story. Just like you’ll underestimate a defensive back if you only look at his interception totals instead of all other available metrics and tape, evaluating defensive linemen solely by their sack totals will never paint the full picture — especially in today’s NFL, where blitzes and stunt packages are designed to cause as much damage as possible in an overall sense. Total pressure is valued because when you disrupt the quarterback, the quarterback’s performance is often negatively affected. Simple logic, right?
When it comes to wreaking havoc on opposing quarterbacks, no defensive lineman, especially an interior defensive lineman, can compete with the Denver Broncos’ Zach Allen this season. Allen is well known in NFL circles as a standout player, and the four-year, $102 million extension he got in the 2025 offseason with $44.25 million guaranteed tells you how the Broncos already feel about him, but when it comes to recognition for performance, Allen still doesn’t get the recognition he deserves… and at 28 years old, he may be playing better than ever.
Allen had half a sack in the Broncos’ 34-26 win over the Green Bay Packers, but he also had six quarterback hits and six quarterback hurries. Arguably, with all the other issues Jordan Love and the Green Bay offense had to deal with when facing Denver’s vicious pass rush, Allen’s impact on Love and the resulting negative performance has kept the Broncos on their eleventh straight win.
In that game, Allen became just the second player to hit at least 40 quarterbacks in back-to-back seasons since quarterback hits were officially tracked in 2006. The list is: Allen in 2024 and 2025, and JJ Watt, who did it four times in a row from 2012 to 2015.
The perception difference between Watt and Allen has a lot to do with sack totals. In those four years, Watt racked up a mind-boggling 74 sacks on Pro Football Focus, half of which counted as full sacks, including the playoffs. Allen has 14 sacks in 2024 and he already has nine sacks this year, so he’s as close to Watt’s peak as possible, but catching up to Watt’s peak is going to be a tough process.
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Even fringe players don’t get the credit they deserve, and it’s difficult to stand out on defense. Having grown up in Denver (hello, Green Mountain!) and knowing the frustration of Howard Cosell’s neglect of the Broncos through years of Monday Night Football halftime highlights, I’m very familiar with the Broncos’ overall underestimation. Don’t get me started on the Hall of Fame snubs.
This is still happening because we don’t get enough talk nationally about the awesomeness of Nik Bonitto, let alone Jonathon Cooper, who might as well be on a milk carton in a national sense. Currently, Denver’s defense has four players with at least 30 total pressures this season: Allen 63, Bonito 61, Cooper 45, and the highly underrated John Franklin-Myers 34. Denver’s front line was just a shark sandwich for any quarterback who had to deal with it (RIP Rob Lehner), and Allen was the tone-setter. It’s one thing to lead the NFL with 58 sacks; it’s another thing to lead the NFL with 180 pressures.
“I don’t think Zach has changed much,” defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said in October. “I mean, he’s just getting older as a player. He’s always been a good rusher. He’s gotten stronger over the years, but he’s always been a smart player. That’s the opportunity. I think Zach can get more out of him by playing with better outside rushers. One-on-one opportunities. When you’re the only interior rusher, you get all the slide with double teams. Now that he’s playing with Nick and ‘Coop’ and ‘JFM,’ it’s fair for all of us on the board to step up with those numbers.”
That’s true, but let’s not assume Allen can’t get home when double-teamed… because he certainly can. Three of his sacks and 11 pressures have come while he’s been double-teamed this season, and like everyone else, he’s someone opposing offensive lines need to focus on during protection calls.
“That’s a good question,” Sean Payton said on Dec. 5, when asked what skills in Allen made him such an impactful disruptor. “He’s very quick off the ball. He has a good bend. I would say he’s one of those, and when you talk about endurance and game after game, it’s unique. That’s [No.] 98 [Raiders EDGE Maxx] So does Crosby. One day we were discussing a game we were going to get into. And I said, ‘Well, we’ll call when he’s not in the game,’ and they said, ‘The last two games, he played 100 percent of the snaps. ‘So we brought that play out. Because usually there are substitution patterns sometimes. But Zach is one of those guys who has great – different positions – but has great stamina and, I would say, great flex. The second part of the sprint, when the game continued, he continued to play hard. “
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Allen has missed 238 snaps this season (on 626), and the Broncos’ passing performance without him tells another story. In the absence of Allen, the Nuggets’ pressure rate dropped from 45.3% to 35.6%, the sack rate dropped from 10.7% to 8.9%, the burst pressure rate dropped from 20.8% to 11.1%, and the burst sack rate dropped from 6.1% to 2.2%.
Yes, the pass rush is loaded with horses, but Zach Allen ruined the quarterback scheme for the Broncos in Denver. His performance is reminiscent of some of the best players of recent years.
