Broncos: NFL exec questions the signing of Zach Allen
This was a crucial offseason for the Denver Broncos. They fell short, very short last year after getting their quarterback of the future. By short I mean four wins, when they were expected to make the playoffs. Now they are somewhat restarting all over again. They went and go head coach Sean Payton to rebuild […]
This was a crucial offseason for the Denver Broncos. They fell short, very short last year after getting their quarterback of the future. By short I mean four wins, when they were expected to make the playoffs.
Now they are somewhat restarting all over again. They went and go head coach Sean Payton to rebuild this franchise back up to its glory days that we all know and love. No one is arguing that hiring the former Super Bowl-winning head coach was a bad idea.
But, there are some moves the Broncos made that others don't necessarily agree with. Let's start with the big moves they made.
They needed offensive line help, as they allowed 55 sacks last season, tied with the Chicago Bears for the most in the league. So, they signed Ben Powers and Mike McGlinchey to help. They also grabbed Jarrett Stidham to be the backup quarterback and Samaje Perine to be the starting running back until Javonte Williams gets healthy.
They lost Dre'Mont Jones to the Seattle Seahawks because the two sides couldn't come to an agreement, which ultimately made the go out and get former Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman Zach Allen, which some people don't like.
It's not that people don't like the player, it's that people don't like how the Broncos got him. In fact, one NFL executive thinks it was a 'crazy' move, but in a bad way.
“We liked Zach and would have been interested in the $10 million range,” one execs said in The Athletics' Executives React story. “Then we heard he had something north of $13 million and then he signed for $15 million and it is, ‘OK, that is crazy.’ He has durability issues, too.”
Losing Dre'Mont Jones was huge because he played a vital role in the run-and-pass defense. He was the team's best interior defender and could even play outside at times. They lost him, ironically, to the team they traded Shelby Harris to, their former defensive tackle.
Allen can bring the same skillset, where he is versatile, strong, and plays his role exactly how it needs to be played. But, what the exec said is far too true. They overpaid for a guy that is injury prone at times.
But think about this: Allen was the only guy available at the time who was even remotely close to what Jones did, and being the team that they are, which has had seven straight losing seasons, they had to overpay. Teams do it all the time.
We will just have to wait and see if it was a good signing. Allen finished with 5.5 sacks last year, if he can improve on that, the Broncos may get a great return on investment.
