His impact for Denver, though, goes well beyond that.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s something you have to learn and grow into to be such a team player where you\u2019re like, \u2018I\u2019m just happy that we got that\u2019,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cHe\u2019s so good at opening things up for other people and it\u2019s like, he knows what he\u2019s doing and we appreciate him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what matters to most of the guys in here is that their teammates appreciate them. Everybody on the outside might not see it and might only see the numbers, but we see it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, who has coached Allen for his entire NFL career, said that about three weeks ago, at the start of the regular season, he called Allen and had \u201ca great talk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout doing more for us,\u201d Joseph said. \u201cObviously, losing the guys we lost, he\u2019s got to do more. That\u2019s in practice, that\u2019s in the meetings and especially in games. If we can get Zach one-on-one, he has to win. An awful lot.<\/p>\n
![\"Zach](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/TDP-L-BRONCOS-RAMSAO1_7334x.jpg\")
Zach Allen (99) of the Denver Broncos celebrates his sack on Matthew Stafford (9) of the Los Angeles Rams with teammate Jonah Elliss (52) during the third quarter of the Broncos\u2019 30-26 win at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, September 27, 2026. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz\/The Denver Post)<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been proud of his run defense. That\u2019s been really good. He\u2019s been blocking the run out and making plays there. If he can do that and obviously that\u2019ll get him more third-down opportunities, that\u2019s going to get him a bunch of numbers in terms of stats. But his run defense has been exceptional this far and that\u2019s a credit to him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stats are great, but Jackson said he\u2019s amazed by how often he watches tape and comes away stumped by how Allen is able to make a play.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe does things that \u2014\u00a0everybody sees the sacks and stuff, but when we go back and watch the tape and see what he\u2019s really doing out there, it\u2019s insane. He might not be getting the sack or the hit, but the pressure he creates, the moves he\u2019s making that\u2019s opening up other people to do different stuff, it\u2019s amazing to watch. We don\u2019t really see it when we\u2019re in the game because stuff is happening so fast, but when we go back and watch the tape it\u2019s like, \u2018Damn, I did not see you do that.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of those from each of our games so far.\u201d<\/p>\n
Allen is not one of the Broncos\u2019 nine captains, but he is a leader nonetheless. Fellow defensive lineman D.J. Jones put it simply when asked about Allen\u2019s leadership style.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy example,\u201d Jones said. \u201cTo the 10th power.\u201d<\/p>\n
Allen\u2019s game has grown exponentially and he seems to keep getting better each season. The Broncos have come to rely heavily on him, too.<\/p>\n
Allen has missed just one game in his Broncos tenure, played 80% or more of the defensive snaps each of his first three seasons here \u2014 he\u2019s at 69.6% in the early going this year \u2014 and has posted pressure rates of 12.3% in 2023, 11.3% in 2024 and 11.7% last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeeing where he\u2019s come from that first year to being the leader he is and the player he is now, just speaks volumes about the guy he is,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cOf course we can always keep growing in whatever it is that we\u2019re doing and he\u2019s going to keep getting better at it, but the strides he\u2019s taken and the leader he is is already amazing to me.\u201d<\/p>\n