Mile High Report
Cracking the list at No. 90, the standout defensive lineman for the 2024 Denver Broncos was the first Bronco named to the Top 100 list — but hopefully is not the last.
Following the best season of his pro career, Broncos’ defensive tackle Zach Allen debuted on the NFL’s Top 100 list this week at No. 90.
Allen’s 2024 season was an impressive one as the six-year veteran turned in his most productive season to date.
The defensive tackle registered 67 QB pressures, best in the league at his position (and ninth among pass rushers).
And traffic didn’t seem to bother the 6-foot-5, 285-pound defensive tackle, who collected 14 of those 67 pressures while being double-teamed (tied for fifth in the NFL.) He also put up his best personal sack numbers with 8.5, rounding out his career sack total to 25.
Allen was a key piece to the NFL’s No.1 sack-getting defense last year and will be again as the Vance Joseph-led squad hopes to improve upon its standing and be the No. 1 defense across all categories in the NFL.
“I don’t want to use the comparison, he plays a different position than Cameron Jordan, but they remind me of each other in their respective positions in that they play with really good stamina,” head coach Sean Payton said of Allen midway through the 2024 season. “It’s hard to do. It’s like you’re wrestling. When Play 48 is the same as Play 3, just the consistency in a position where we do have a rotation, it’s important because every play is like a six-second wrestling match.”
The defensive tackle was the first Bronco to make the 2025 Top 100 but should not be the last — a definitive sign that last year’s team was a significant improvement over the previous year.
The 2024 Top 100 featured only one Bronco — Pat Surtain II at No. 52. Surtain, the 2024 Defensive Player of the Year, will most certainly make the list again but should be higher. And Allen and Surtain will hopefully have some more company, possibly including guard Quinn Meinerz, speedster Marvin Mims and pass rusher Nik Bonitto.
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