Broncos Boast One of the AFC's Most 'Underappreciated' Players

The Denver Broncos have a strong roster, including some sleepers flying under the radar. But is there any player who's truly underappreciated?

NFL.com's Tom Blair says yes, listing Broncos rush linebacker Jonathon Cooper as one of the most underappreciated players in the AFC.

“Cooper, Nik Bonitto and Zach Allen were the only three players from the same team to finish in the top 30 in total pressures in the NFL last season, according to Next Gen Stats -- and Cooper was the only member of that triumvirate not to receive a second-team All-Pro nod, a Pro Bowl honor or Defensive Player of the Year vote. So I'm doing what I can to balance the scales with the little power I have in my hands here," Blair wrote. "Like fellow 2021 draftees Patrick Surtain II and Quinn Meinerz, Cooper joined the franchise in the final year of the Vic Fangio era, going through Nathaniel Hackett's false-start reboot before finally blossoming under Sean Payton and Vance Joseph. Over the past two campaigns, Cooper totaled 19 sacks, cementing himself as a key piece of the Broncos' future. His parallel rise with the franchise serves as a reminder that, while organizational turnarounds can happen quickly, their roots are often traced to years of astute drafting and long-term player development.”

With Bonitto and Allen getting the lion's share of the attention for the Broncos' league-leading pass rush, it's easy to see how Cooper could be underappreciated nationally. Allen and Bonitto are both entering a contract year, while Cooper received a solid extension during the season, so we can infer that at the team level, he's certainly not underappreciated.

Cooper has emerged as a quality player for the Broncos, as a solid pass rusher and run defender, though he can be inconsistent. Last year, Cooper's 10.5 sacks were tied for the 12th-most in the NFL, with his 51 pressures being tied for the 26th-most, regardless of position, per NFL Pro stats. 

For comparison, Allen ranked 10th in pressures, with Bonitto tying for 21st. Allen ranked 24th in sacks, and Bonitto was third. So, Cooper wasn’t far behind those two in what he did for the Broncos defense. The big difference is that Cooper has been a far better run defender than Bonitto. 

Allen led the three with 61 tackles and 53 stops, but Cooper wasn’t far behind him with 58 tackles, 10 more than Bonitto, and 45 stops, also 10 more than Bonitto. What's more, NFL Pro has a stat called ‘Hustle Stops,’ which is a defensive stop where the player covers 20-plus yards from snap to tackle.

Broncos safety Brandon Jones led the team with 15 such plays, with two linebackers and a corner rounding out the top four, which makes sense, but Cooper ranked fifth with nine hustle stops. Allen ranked sixth with seven, and Bonitto was 10th with five. In terms of the whole NFL, filtering out defensive backs and linebackers, the leader had 12 hustle stops, and Cooper was tied for the second-most. 

While Blair doesn't mention Cooper's contract, it's hard not to factor it in when talking about underappreciated players, especially when they take such a team-friendly deal as Cooper did. He signed for four years and $54 million, where the Broncos were able to structure a big payment for March this year instead of when he signed, because of their cap situation last season.

What's more is, there is a chance Cooper only gets two years and $31 million out of that contract because of how it's structured. Signing for $13.5 million on an average per year basis is the 24th-highest average at the edge rusher position, which is a steal for someone who has produced the way Cooper has over the past couple of years. 

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Cooper is very much appreciated by the Broncos front office for agreeing to such a contract because they got a good player on a team-friendly deal. His willingness to do whatever is needed for the team, both on and off the field, makes him highly valuable internally, but outside of Broncos HQ, he might be an underappreciated player, even though league recognition is growing for his production on the field.