Broncos Defense Garners Massive Praise, Scores Elite NFL Ranking

The Denver Broncos had a good defensive unit in 2024, but it had some key flaws. The Broncos spent the offseason working to address those flaws, in hopes of making a good unit even better.

There are plenty of analysts who are bullish about the Broncos' defense, given the emergence of certain players last season, the free agents they signed, and how they shored up the depth in the draft.

Sharp Football Analysis recently released its rankings of the units of all 32 teams, with defense grouped into the front seven and the secondary. In both cases, Sharp Football Analysis ranked the Broncos among the best, with the secondary No. 1 overall and the front seven No. 2 overall.

"Denver’s secondary ranked in the top four on every ballot and has the potential to improve this year if rookie Jahdae Barron makes a smooth transition to the league, likely in the nickel corner role," SFA wrote.

The Broncos' secondary barely took the top spot ahead of the Houston Texans. The staff noted that the Texans got more first-place votes than the Broncos, but Denver ranked in the top four on every staff member's list.

Of course, Denver's secondary is led by arguably the best cornerback in the NFL, Patrick Surtain II. Last season, Riley Moss emerged as a quality No. 2 cornerback, and Brandon Jones had a strong season as the team's new free safety.

This offseason, the Broncos signed safety Talanoa Hufanga and drafted Barron in the first round. As SFA notes, if Barron transitions well to the NFL, the Broncos' secondary has a chance to improve, perhaps becoming the most dominant in the league.

That secondary will be combined with a front seven in Denver that SFA ranked second behind the Minnesota Vikings. As noted in the site's rankings of defensive front seven units:

"Denver's front seven lacks a brand name pass rusher, but it’s one of the deepest units in the league. Nik Bonitto and John Franklin-Myers were two of just 12 pass rushers (out of 138 qualifiers) to generate a 15% pressure rate or higher. The addition of Dre Greenlaw should elevate an already strong unit, assuming he is healthy," SFA wrote.

Along with Bonitto, Franklin-Myers, and Greenlaw, the unit is expected to start Zach Allen, D.J. Jones, Jonathon Cooper, and Alex Singleton. The depth looks great, with Malcolm Roach, Jonah Elliss, and Justin Strnad among the players who saw a lot of playing time in 2024.

Throw in the 2025 draft picks who will provide depth, and this front seven looks formidable, even if you don't have a player who ranks in the top five at his position.

The key will be for players to stay healthy. Last season, the Broncos were fortunate not to lose a lot of players to season-ending injuries (Singleton, the notable exception), but they did see a couple of players miss a handful of games.

But if everything comes together, the Broncos defense has the potential to be great. Last season, it was arguably a top-five unit, though that came in a season in which only a couple of units could truly be called great.

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The additions to the team this year, plus improvement from others, could make this defense a great one in 2025. We'll look at what Sharp Football Analysis had to say about the Broncos offense later.