The Denver Broncos' defense has become a known entity around the NFL, with many media personalities and publications predicting it to be the league's No. 1 unit. After finishing as a top-10 defense last year, leading the league in sacks, and featuring the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, the Broncos could actually be even better.
If the team gets a little luck by way of the injury bug and the Broncos' two key free-agent additions stay healthy, it'll be an even better unit. How much better?
ESPN's Mike Clay may have given us an idea with his individual stat projections for the Broncos' defense. We've already covered Clay's projections for the Broncos' offense. Today, let's examine, starting on the defensive line.
Zach Allen | DL
- Tackles: 65
- Sacks: 7.5
- INT: .01
- Snaps: 948
Allen played a whopping 964 snaps last year, the most of any defensive lineman in the NFL. Clay has him only playing 16 fewer in 2025. With the addition of Sai'vion Jones, the Broncos are hoping to play Allen less and keep him better rested, and I don't think that giving him fewer than one less snap per game will do that trick.
As for the stats, Allen had a career-high 8.5 sacks last year on the way to the first All-Pro recognition of his career. Part of keeping him fresher is to boost his impact, and he may have unlocked something last year as a pass rusher.
Still, 7.5 sacks as a benchmark projection for Allen is solid. It's not easy to project sacks for interior rushers.
John Franklin-Myers | DL
- Tackles: 33
- Sacks: 4.5
- INT: .00
- Snaps: 490
Franklin-Myers saw 533 snaps last year and also turned in a career year, with seven sacks. Clay has him playing roughly 2.5 snaps more per game in 2025.
If it shakes out that way, JFM will likely produce another noteworthy campaign. He and Allen make for one heck of a defensive end tandem in Denver's 3-4 defense. Both players are in a contract year.
D.J. Jones | NT
- Tackles: 39
- Sacks: 2.1
- INT: .00
- Snaps: 458
The Broncos re-signed Jones to continue anchoring the defensive line at nose tackle. He played 465 snaps last season, and turned in a solid campaign.
Although Jones only had one sack last year, he averages about two per season since becoming a starter in the NFL. These are solid projections.
Jonathon Cooper | OLB
- Tackles: 56
- Sacks: 6.6
- INT: .02
- Snaps: 745
Cooper is also coming off a career-high season, posting 10.5 sacks in 2024. With the improvements the Broncos have made on defense, and Allen and JFM wrecking shop on the interior, I foresee Cooper hitting double-digit sacks in back-to-back seasons.
Last season, Cooper received 820 snaps, and with the likes of Jonah Elliss and Dondrea Tillman waiting in the wings, the Broncos could be looking to give the starter a bit more of a breather in 2025. I doubt the difference will be palpable, though.
Nik Bonitto | OLB
- Tackles: 46
- Sacks: 8.1
- INT: .02
- Snaps: 692
Bonitto saw 708 snaps last year, and the Broncos are intent on giving him fewer in 2025. Time will tell.
Last year, Bonitto stormed onto the NFL scene with 13.5 sacks, garnering Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors. For a guy whose previous career-high was eight sacks, projecting 8.1 is fair.
Alex Singleton | ILB
- Tackles: 171
- Sacks: 1.1
- INT: .08
- Snaps: 980
Remember, Clay's projections are assuming full health. If Singleton, coming off a torn ACL, manages to produce 171 tackles for the Broncos, it'll be a stunning success.
Singleton is 32 years old, and that injury at his age could sap him of his previous NFL form, but the Broncos are expecting him to bounce back. So far, so good.
Dre Greenlaw | ILB
- Tackles: 140
- Sacks: 1.1
- INT: 1.1
- Snaps: 937
Health-willing, Greenlaw will see more snaps than Singleton because he won't be taken off the field on third down. Coverage is one of Greenlaw's calling cards, whereas, with Singleton, it's a liability, even when he's perfectly healthy.
If Greenlaw notches 140 tackles, it'll mean that Denver successfully staved off the injury bug. Broncos Country has fingers crossed in hopes that it happens just like that.
Patrick Surtain II | CB
- Tackles: 55
- Sacks: .1
- INT: 1.7
- Snaps: 980
The Broncos are hoping that Surtain gets enough business from opposing quarterbacks to total more than the two interceptions that Clay projects. But when healthy, opponents typically avoid throwing to Surtain's side of the field.
With the improvements the Broncos have made to the secondary this offseason, it might not be so easy to avoid Surtain moving forward. Clay's projections are solid, but I'd bump Surtain's interception projection to 2.5.
Riley Moss | CB
- Tackles: 47
- Sacks: .1
- INT: .8
- Snaps: 479
Clay has Moss earning the fourth-most snaps among Denver's cornerbacks. Normally, I'd list them in Clay's descending order, but Moss is going to be a starter. And today, we're only looking at the starter's stat projections.
From a numbers perspective, I wouldn't pick nits in these projections because our sample size of Moss as a starter is limited to one season. But he's not going to be a depth player, and projects as the Broncos' starting boundary corner opposite Surtain.
Jahdae Barron | CB
- Tackles: 58
- Sacks: .3
- INT: 1.6
- Snaps: 745
Clay has Barron projected as the Broncos' second-highest snap earner at cornerback. That could end up being true, but the bulk of the work the rookie gets is likely to come from the slot.
For a player who's yet to suit up in the NFL, it's hard to quibble with Clay's projections.
Ja'Quan McMillian | CB
- Tackles: 58
- Sacks: .9
- INT: 1.2
- Snaps: 639
McMillian, as you can see, is Clay's third-highest snap earner at cornerback. This means that the ESPN analyst forecasts Denver's starting trio as Surtain and Barron on the boundary, with McMillian in the slot.
Who knows? I could be wrong, but the hole in the boat last season wasn't Moss on the boundary. It was McMillian in the slot, who was exploited left and right by opposing quarterbacks.
Talanoa Hufanga | S
- Tackles: 96
- Sacks: .5
- INT: 1.3
- Snaps: 937
If the Broncos get north of 900 snaps out of Hufanga in Year 1, it'll be resounding success and it'll mean that the defense truly has an All-Pro patrolling the back end. Each of these stat projections are plausible, if he stays healthy.
If Hufanga reaches this many snaps, it will likely result in more than two interceptions. He'll also get his fingerprints on some forced fumbles, because, as Sean Payton has described him, Hufanga is a "first responder."
Brandon Jones | S
- Tackles: 103
- Sacks: .5
- INT: 2.6
- Snaps: 873
We've got ourselves a Jones fan here in Clay. Last year, Jones set a new career-high tackle mark at 115, and came away with three interceptions.
Jones played 975 snaps last year, so garnering nearly 100 fewer this year is hard to see happening. But health-willing, the Broncos will have one heck of a safety tandem.
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