It’s election season and D.J. Jones is getting in the spirit.
Jones has taken close notice of how fellow Broncos defensive lineman Zach Allen is playing. He is ready to help Allen’s candidacy for NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
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“I’m going to start a petition,’’ Jones said. “Why not? That’s what Twitter (now X), Instagram and all that stuff is for. He’s been very dominant.”
Through six games, Allen is tied for sixth in the NFL with 4.5 sacks and second with 16 quarterback hits. Consider that Allen is an interior lineman and is holding his own in stat categories usually dominated by edge rushers. Among interior linemen, Pro Football Focus lists him as the league leader with 23 total pressures.
Denver Broncos defensive end Zach Allen (99) and linebacker Nik Bonitto (15) sack Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) during the second half of an NFL football game in Denver, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Allen also has been strong against the run. Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph recently said he asked Allen before the season to do “more for us” a and that he’s “locked the run out.”
“It’s still early and it’s definitely an honor to even be in that conversation,’’ Allen told The Denver Gazette about being mentioned for Defensive Player of the Year. “I think it’s the whole (defensive) group. We just got to take it week-by-week, day-by-day and that’s kind of how the results come.”
A leading candidate for Defensive Player of the Year so far is Houston edge rusher Will Anderson, who has an NFL-most 7.5 sacks and 14 quarterback hits, but his candidacy could be hurt if the 1-4 Texans don’t turn around their season. Also in the mix are Buffalo edge rusher Greg Rousseau, who has six sacks and an NFL-most 17 quarterback hits and Minnesota edge rusher Dallas Turner, who has 5.5 sacks and 14 quarterback hits.
Allen has led the NFL in quarterback hits in each of the past two seasons, having 40 in 2024 and 47 in 2025. Since the statistic was first tracked in 2006, Allen became just the second player to have 40 or more in consecutive seasons. J.J. Watt did it four years in a row for Houston from 2012-15.
Allen last season made the Pro Bowl, was first-team All-Pro and tied for second in a Pro Football Reference statistical model that rated the league’s most impactful players. Anderson was first and Allen was tied with edge rusher Myles Garrett, then with Cleveland and now with the Los Angeles Rams. Garrett was NFL Defensive Player of the Year with the Browns in 2023 and 2025, when he set a league record with 23 sacks.
Denver Broncos defensive end Zach Allen (99) warms up during an NFL football practice at the team’s headquarters Thursday, June 4, 2026, in Centennial, Colo.. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Allen last season had seven sacks and his career high is 8.5 in 2024. He’s now on pace for 12.5 sacks in 2026, which would be his first double-digit season.
“There’s a lot of things that go into sacks,’’ he said. “If I’m just generating pressure consistently, that’s all I care about. Luckily, I got great players that help me get some one-on-ones, so I’m not always double teamed. I’m really fortunate.”
Allen doesn’t deny he’s off to the best start of his eight-year NFL career.
“I think so,’’ he said. “I think I still have some room to improve. It’s still early. It’s obviously better to start faster than slower, but I’m still looking to find ways to improve and help this team.”
In Thursday night’s 17-14 home win over Seattle, Allen shared a sack with outside linebacker Nik Bonitto and had five tackles and two passes defended for the 4-2 Broncos. Next up is a date next Sunday at Arizona.
Allen was a third-round pick by the Cardinals in 2019 out of Boston College and played for them for four seasons. He then joined the Broncos as a free agent in 2023.
Allen played his first Denver preseason game at Arizona in 2023. But next Sunday will mark his first regular-season appearance at State Farm Stadium in Glendale as a visitor.
“When you spend four years in a spot, it’s emotional,’’ Allen said. “There’s a lot of great people still there that I’m excited to see. It’ll definitely be fun to go back. Arizona will always have a special place in my heart. It was a place where I grew up, so it’s definitely a special spot, but I’m really glad to be a Denver Bronco right now.”
Denver Broncos defensive end Zach Allen (99) and Denver Broncos linebacker Jonathon Cooper (0) walk off the field against the Green Bay Packers during an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/Bart Young)
Allen looked back at his rookie year of 2019, when he played in just four games. He missed significant time due to a neck injury and found the NFL to be a big adjustment from college.
“It was definitely a slow start between the rookie year and my second year,’’ said Allen, who did start seven of the 13 games he played in his second season of 2020 and began to show positive signs of development. “There’s people I’m super close with who played a big factor in helping me get here.”
Allen is grateful for those in Arizona who helped him through “that adversity” early in his career. Those he credited include Joseph, who was his defensive coordinator for all four years in Arizona before the two both went to Denver, and Brentson Buckner, the Cardinals’ defensive line coach from 2020-21. He said Watt, his teammate and “mentor” from 2021-22, also played a big role in his continued development.
After joining the Broncos on a three-year $45.75 million deal, Allen blossomed even more. Before last season, he signed a four-year, $102 million contract extension that kicked for this season.
Now, Allen has a shot to become Denver’s second Defensive Player of the Year winner in three seasons, with cornerback Pat Surtain II having won it in 2024. The only other Broncos player to have claimed the award was linebacker Randy Gradishar in 1978.
“Nobody can block him,’’ Bonitto said of Allen. “You can’t leave a guy like that one-on-one. He’s one of the greatest in our game. He’s been amazing. He’s a guy that needs extra attention or he’s going to wreck the game. You can see what he’s been doing (to start the season) and he’s going to continue to do that throughout the season.”
Bonitto called Allen a strong candidate for Defensive Player of the Year. But it remains to be seen if he also will start a petition.