The Broncos have done very well to make their interior defensive line very stout and deep. But that depth is scheduled to be threatened, with three key figures in Zach Allen, John Franklin-Myers, and Malcolm Roach all entering the final season of their contracts. Each player will have differing circumstances to consider, and the Broncos will have to decide where to go with each differently.
Identifying interior defensive line tiers
Chris Jones is in his own S-tier that no player should be expected to match for a while, so let’s instead focus on three rough tiers that have formed under him, by typical key metrics.
| Player | APY | Full Guarantees | Vested Guarantees | Year 1 Cash Flow | Year 2 Cash Flow | Year 3 Cash Flow | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Tier (top) | Christian Wilkins | $27,500,000 | $57,500,000 | $82,750,000 | $29,500,000 | $58,500,000 | $86,250,000 |
| A Tier (bottom) | Osa Odighizuwa | $20,000,000 | $39,000,000 | $52,000,000 | $22,250,000 | $39,000,000 | $59,500,000 |
| B Tier (top) | Zach Allen | $15,250,000 | $32,500,000 | $32,500,000 | $17,250,000 | $32,500,000 | $45,750,000 |
| DJ Jones | $13,000,000 | $13,000,000 | $26,000,000 | $13,000,000 | $26,000,000 | $39,000,000 | |
| B Tier (bottom) | Justin Jones | $10,055,000 | $17,750,000 | $19,750,000 | $13,055,000 | $21,360,000 | $30,165,000 |
| C Tier (top) | Da’Quan Jones | $8,000,000 | $10,500,000 | $10,500,000 | $8,250,000 | $16,000,000 | |
| John Franklin-Myers | $7,500,000 | $8,000,000 | $10,000,000 | $7,000,000 | $15,000,000 | ||
| C Tier (bottom) | Bobby Brown III | $7,000,000 | $6,800,000 | $9,575,000 | $6,800,000 | $13,000,000 | $21,000,000 |
| Malcolm Roach | $3,500,000 | $3,000,000 | $3,000,000 | $4,250,000 | $7,000,000 |
There are a few players who straddle these tiers that are not included in the ranges listed, but I think this provides a decent guideline. Most IDL contracts are for three seasons, so I’m also only looking at the cash flows over that span, instead of the usual four.
Allen currently heads the B Tier. I think it’s safe to say that he has elevated his play into the A tier. The only question is how far up the tier he’ll go. The Odighizuwa minimum strikes me as quite team friendly. There is a gaggle of players in the $23.5M-$24.5M APY range that Allen should be poised to at least match on most metrics. Full guarantees range about the first two seasons of APY (~$48 million), with cash flow over two seasons just a bit over that (~$50 million running). I would be inclined to discover which of APY, guarantees, or cash flow Allen wants to prioritize, craft that metric around Wilkins and/or Milton Williams, who is earning just a little less than Wilkins, while working on crafting others closer to that middle range.
Franklin-Myers took a pay cut from what would have been $28.9M over two seasons to $15 million upon being traded from the Jets to the Broncos. It seems unlikely that he’ll be sated by anything below the very simple contract teammate DJ Jones got at a literal $13M for each season, with the first two fully guaranteed. Getting above that $14.45M APY he was scheduled on should likely be his goal. Achieving that goal would push him to near the top of the B tier that Allen currently occupies.
Roach, meanwhile, should not be ignored. He logged 42.3% of the snaps in 2024, more than Jones, and not too far behind Franklin-Myers at 46.1%. Roach is also younger, having turned 27 last month. Has he done enough to double his APY to break into Tier C? I think that’s something to watch as 2025 progresses and we see how his performance goes.
Who to prioritize, and how to proceed?
Despite the higher cost that he’ll demand, I think the answer is clearly Allen. He logged the highest number of snaps among all IDL in the entire league at 83.5%, and they were high quality ones at that. One could argue that his production is at least equating to two mid tier priced IDL. One would also hope that negotiations have been going on for a while, and will continue to go on through training camp and the preseason, aiming to secure a deal before September.
Negotiations should also proceed with Franklin-Myers and Roach, yet with an eye on just how much the Broncos want to invest in the interior defensive line. DJ Jones was just recently extended, and Sai’vion Jones is coming in as a rookie to watch to create more data points to learn from. Extending all three might be impractical, thus it could take some patience on the Broncos to find what’s going to be the best balance between retaining the best talent they can, and reserving financial resources for other positions.