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We’re coming up on the 10-year reunion on when the Denver Broncos won the 2016 Super Bowl and a key member of that team announced his retirement.
On July 14, former Broncos defensive lineman Malik Jackson announced on “Good Morning Football” that he is retiring after playing 10 years in the NFL.
“10 to 12 years was my goal,” Jackson said on NFL Network. “I was able to get to a point where I was doing OK. I was doing pretty well for myself. I did enough. I have a daughter, and I need to go home and be with her and start living life.”
The Broncos selected Jackson in the fifth-round of the 2012 NFL Draft and spent his first four seasons in Denver for the orange and blue.
Jackson had his best statistical Broncos season in 2013 when he had six sacks, 42 tackles, including 11 tackles for a loss. Jackson also had 14 quarterback hits that season.
During the 2015 Super Bowl season, Jackson made a dramatic impact on the Denver defense. The California native recorded 5.5 sacks, 45 tackles, eight tackles for a loss, and a career high 16 quarterback hits.
During the 2016 Super Bowl against the Carolina Panthers, Jackson completed arguably the biggest play of the game in the first-quarter when he recovered a fumble in the endzone for a touchdown. This opened the doors wide open for the Broncos as they took a 10-0 lead and never looked back.
Life After the Broncos
Entering the final year of his rookie contract in 2015, the Broncos did not offer Jackson an extension until it was too late.
According to Cameron Wolfe, who was working in Denver at the time, the Broncos had offered Jackson a 5-year $53 million deal. Jackson declined the offer because of the season he had and said that he would’ve take that deal before the season if offered, but things changed.
Instead the Broncos signed defensive end Derek Wolfe to an extension and were negotiating a long-term deal with Super Bowl MVP Von Miller.
Jackson went ahead and signed a six-year deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars worth $85.5 million.
During his time in Jacksonville, he totaled up 18 sacks, 105 tackles and 43 quarterback hits in three seasons.
In 2017, Jackson made his one and only Pro Bowl after recording a career high eight sacks.
Jackson would play three more seasons after playing for the Jaguars as he ended up with the Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns.
Denver Needs Help Getting to the QB in 2023
The 2015 Broncos had arguably the greatest defense in NFL history and they had elite pass rushing talent. From the inside with Jackson and Wolfe to the outside with Miller and hall of famer DeMarcus Ware, the Broncos led the NFL in sacks with 52 during their Super Bowl run.
Since then, the Broncos have only ranked in the top-five of sacks just twice and it hasn’t happened since 2018. During that season Denver sacked the quarterback 44 times and they haven’t matched that number since.
In 2022, the Broncos had the seventh-worst number of sacks in the NFL with just 36. Denver also totaled up just 36 sacks in 2021.
Bradley Chubb and Dre’Mont Jones were the top two sack leaders for the Broncos last season. The only issue with that statement now is that neither of those players are on the roster entering the 2023 season.
The Broncos also signed Randy Gregory last offseason with the hope that he can put up Pro Bowl numbers, but that wasn’t the case either.
In six games, Gregory only sacked the quarterback twice and had seven quarterback hits.
The current pass rushers on the current roster from last year are Gregory, Browning, Nik Bonitto, and Jonathon Cooper. All four combined for 10.5 sacks.
Denver recently went out and signed Frank Clark from the Kansas City Chiefs to help give some depth and experience on the defensive line. Clark had five sacks and 13 quarterback hits last year.
The biggest acquisition the Broncos made in the offseason was signing defensive lineman Zach Allen.
Last season, Allen had the best season of his career by sacking the quarterback a career high 5.5 times, hitting the quarterback 20 times, and had a career best 10 tackles for loss. Allen also knocked down eight passes which is twice as many as he had the previous year.
If the Broncos want to get back to the playoffs for the first-time since Jackson was on the team, they’re going to have to compete and take down the elite teams and quarterbacks in their division.
Fixing Russell Wilson isn’t the only answer Denver needs to figure out this season, it’s their pass rush to help their own secondary and prevent guys like Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, and Jimmy Garoppolo throwing multiple touchdowns against them.
If the Broncos have an elite pass rush in 2023, there’s a good chance this team could be back fighting for a playoff spot or even appearing in the playoffs.
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