DeShawn Williams: Broncos' Proficiency at Batted Passes is a Credit to DL Coach Bill Kollar

The Denver Broncos defensive line has been one of the team's biggest strengths for the past few years. And to think it's often been later-round picks and journeymen who have been the ones making an impact.

After all, Shelby Harris and DeShawn Williams bounced around the league on practice squads, Dre'Mont Jones and McTelvin Agim were third-round draft choices in need of development, and Marquiss Spencer is a seventh-rounder whom some might have thought was a long shot to make the roster.

Yet these five players are all making headlines in Broncos training camp, thanks in no small part to defensive line coach Bill Kollar, who has taken multiple players who didn't get chances elsewhere, and turned them into top contributors.

A case in point is Harris, a seventh-round pick by the (then) Oakland Raiders in the 2014 NFL draft, who barely saw playing time, before being waived. He failed to make the cut with the New York Jets and the Dallas Cowboys. Harris signed a futures contract with the Broncos in 2017, made an impact in the preseason and the rest, as they say, is history.

Now consider Williams, who went undrafted, signed with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2015 and spent three years on their practice squad. He joined the Broncos in 2018, though he failed to stick, and the same was true in 2019.

But in 2020, he got another shot and, after the Broncos lost starting nose tackle Mike Purcell to a season-ending injury, Williams started 11 games and impressed with 10 pressures, two sacks, and an interception. That pick? The result of (you guessed it) a tipped pass at the line. 

Williams gives a lot of credit to Kollar for the work that he's done with the linemen, particularly when it comes to tipping passes at the line of scrimmage.

"Shoot, Bill—we do that drill, the batted balls every year every day," Williams said after Friday's training camp session. "I think the last two or three years we lead the league in batted balls so, it shows. It’s paying off. You’ve got the best hand in the league with Shelby. He gets those tipped balls, and you get those opportunities for INTs and things like that but, we work those every day and it shows on game day.”

And then there's Agim, who already has three tipped passes and one interception in training camp. It looks like Harris isn't the only one who could be batting down balls this coming season.

Agim, Harris, Williams, and Jones are among the many who will create havoc in the pass rush, along with veteran edge rushers Von Miller, Bradley Chubb, and Malik Reed. After the fourth day of Broncos camp, Jones made it known how excited he is about it — and Kollar plays a role in that, too.

“The pash-rush party [is] about to be lit," Jones said. "You’ve got Shelby, me, Chubb, Malik incorporated into that. ‘Sosa’ (Agim) will be incorporated into that, DeShawn is going to be incorporated into that. Everybody has the ability to rush the passer. It’s going to be fun.”

Kollar first joined the Broncos in 2015 when Gary Kubiak was named the new head coach. Kubiak was familiar with Kollar, as he coached Houston's defensive line from 2009-14, for whom Kubiak was head coach at the time.

Kollar was one of many defensive coaches who oversaw the dominant Broncos defense that won Super Bowl 50. Derek Wolfe had a Pro Bowl-worthy season and Malik Jackson broke out.

In the following years, the likes of Vance Walker, Jared Crick, and Domata Peko, Sr. emerged as key contributors. And then there was Harris, who stood out during the 2017 preseason.

Even after Kubiak stepped down as head coach, the new hire Vance Joseph chose to retain Kollar and, after Joseph was gone, Vic Fangio did the same. Fangio's remarks about Agim's tipped pass were brief, but enough to let everyone know that Fangio appreciates the work Kollar does in getting his linemen to get their hands on the ball.

"Bill does a good job of preaching that and coaching it," Fangio said. "Obviously, he’s [Agim] listened.”

As evidenced by the 83 passes defensed by the defensive linemen since 2015 — the most in the NFL in that period — it's clear a lot of the linemen are listening. The Broncos defense is sure to generate excitement this year, and Kollar's work with the defensive linemen is a big reason why. 

With Jones and Agim on track for their best seasons yet, the steady veteran presence of Harris, and the likes of Williams and Spencer looking to contribute — and let's not forget what Purcell can bring once he's healthy — there's plenty to like with this group.

And this goes back to Kollar. Broncos fans can feel fortunate to have one of the best in the NFL coaching up the D-line.