Zach Allen has been the foremost disruptive force in the middle of the Broncos’ defense during its dominant two-year run.
He’s also got a growing reputation around the NFL.
Allen, the eighth-year man entering his fourth season with the Broncos, was named the No. 73 overall player in the NFL by the league in its annual summer countdown Thursday.
He’s the first — but almost certainly not the last — Denver player to appear on the list as it moves from No. 100 toward No. 1.
Allen led the NFL with 47 quarterback hits in 2025 and provided punch in the middle that not only resulted in seven sacks and an 11.5% pressure rate, but also helped keep teams from being able to pay too much attention to Nik Bonitto, Jonathon Cooper and the myriad blitzers that defensive coordinator Vance Joseph deployed throughout the year.
When Allen got one-on-one matchups, he thrived. When he didn’t, his presence created them for others.
After the season, Allen was named a first-team Associated Press All-Pro for the first time in his career.
“He has this weird stutter-bull (rush) where his chest will be presented, but by the time you throw your hand out there, his ass is already gone,” Kansas City offensive lineman Trey Smith said in the NFL’s video about Allen. “Very unorthodox with his rush and one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL.”
Marveled teammate and fellow All-Pro Pat Surtain II: “Itap like watching ballet on grass. The moves he does, the counters, the swim moves.”
No. 73 on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2026… DE Zach Allen!
— NFL (@NFL)
Allen has been a disruptive player since he arrived in Denver via free agency shortly after head coach Sean Payton’s hire. The 28-year-old has averaged 63 quarterback hits per year with the Broncos and has logged a pressure rate of 11.3% or better in each season.
“In this league you’ve kind of always got to keep on finding ways to get better and adjusting and all that,” said Allen, who inked a four-year, $102 million extension during training camp last summer. “It also helps when you’ve got ‘V.J.’ dialing stuff up that helps us get one-on-ones. We’ve got a lot of good guys and thatap going to create a lot of opportunities for people.
“We came close to the sack record last year and we fully expect to break it this year.”
That would be quite an accomplishment, considering the Broncos logged a franchise-record 63 sacks last fall — re-breaking the mark they set in 2024 — and came up just five short of Chicago’s single-season record.
In the process, Allen has started to accumulate individual accolades, including the All-Pro nod and his first Pro Bowl selection last season.
“Itap definitely nice to get it. Obviously, growing up as a kid, you dream of stuff like that,” he said this summer. “The cool thing, too, is we have a lot of guys and itap really a cohesive group and everyone helps everyone. Thatap why you saw so many guys get recognition on the team. With team success comes individual awards.
“We’ve just got to keep on winning and more guys will keep getting awards.”
