The Denver Broncos finished third in scoring defense last season allowing 311 points – 18.3 ppg. They had one shutout – against the Kansas City Chiefs B-team – but against starters the fewest points they allowed was six against the Atlanta Falcons.
The Bronco defense last led the league in scoring in 1989. No team has repeated as the scoring defense leader since the Seattle Seahawks led the league for four straight seasons from 2012 to 2015. Prior to the that the Pittsburgh Steelers led the league in the 2010 and 2011 seasons. The Los Angeles Chargers led the league in scoring defense last season.
Thirteen different teams have led the league in scoring defense this century with five doing it multiple times: Pittsburgh, Seattle, Baltimore, New England and Chicago. Of those teams only three have never been in the bottom quartile in scoring this century: Baltimore, Pittsburgh and New England.
The New England Patriots came close last season by finishing 22nd in scoring. The Bottom quartile is 25th or worse. The top quartile is first through eighth. While the Broncos have finished in the top quartile seven times this century, they have not finished higher than 3rd.
Normally teams don’t make huge jumps year over year in scoring defense if they are going to finish the season as the league leader. The Chargers in 2024 notwithstanding (they moved from 24th to 1st). The Baltimore Ravens, who led the league in 2023, were third the year before. The San Francisco 49ers who led in 2022 were 9th in 2021. The Buffalo Bills who led in 2021 were 16th in 2020. The Los Angeles Rams went from 17th to first: the Patriots from 7th to 1st, the Chicago Bears from 9th to 1st, the Minnesota Vikings from 6th to 1st, the Pats from 10th to 1st, the Seahawks from 7th to 1st.
Of the 14 teams in the table above, the Ravens have the lowest (best) average rank in scoring defense this century at 7.6. The Broncos are tied with the Bears, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Bills, and Chargers in terms average scoring defense rank this century.
The Broncos have added three potentially elite defenders who will upgrade their spots relative to the the 2024 defense: Dre Greenlaw, Jahdae Barron and Talanoa Hufanga. Greenlaw is an upgrade over Cody Barton and/or Justin Strnad (who can move back to his special teams role with the Broncos). Barron is an upgrade over Ja’Quan McMillan and/or Riley Moss (whether Barron is playing CB2 or CB3). Hufanga is a huge upgrade over PJ Locke who does not belong as a starting safety in the NFL.
Locke was the 12th worst DB for passer rating allowed last season. When his man was targeted, opposing QBs had a passer rating of 125.8. Admittedly there were other starting safeties who were worse:
- Kyle Dugger – 137.4
- Jason Pinnock – 135.9
- Grant Delpit – 134.0
- Jeremy Chinn – 131.2
- Donovan Wilson – 130.0
- Budda Baker – 129.8
- Isaiah Pola-Mao – 129.6
- Minkah Fitzpatrick – 127.6
- PJ Locke – 125.8
In 2023 when Hufanga made first team All-Pro, he allowed a passer rating of 60.1. That would have been the third best for a starting safety in 2024. Calen Bullock and Kerby Joseph (37.3 and 39.1) were the two were better last season. Joseph was first team All-Pro in 2024. Xavier McKinney was the other first team All-Pro safety in 2024. He allowed a passer rating of 78.5 last season.
Locke allowed a team-high four receiving TDs last season (tied with Moss) and one in ten of the catches he allowed was a TD. Eleven Bronco defenders allowed a TD catch last season and only Jonah Elliss, Alex Singleton, Devon Key and Kwon Alexander had a worse catch per TD rate than Locke.
| Rk | Player | Age | Pos | G | GS | Int | Tgt | Cmp | Cmp% | Yds | Yds/Cmp | Yds/Tgt | TD | Rat | Catches per TD |
| 1 | Cody Barton | 28 | LILB | 17 | 14 | 2 | 47 | 41 | 87.2 | 476 | 11.6 | 10.1 | 1 | 98.2 | 41.0 |
| 2 | Brandon Jones | 26 | FS | 16 | 15 | 3 | 70 | 47 | 67.1 | 492 | 10.5 | 7 | 2 | 79 | 23.5 |
| 3 | Ja’Quan McMillian | 24 | CB | 17 | 9 | 2 | 101 | 65 | 64.4 | 688 | 10.6 | 6.8 | 3 | 85.7 | 21.7 |
| 4 | Levi Wallace | 29 | CB | 13 | 2 | 0 | 30 | 20 | 66.7 | 271 | 13.6 | 9 | 1 | 106.4 | 20.0 |
| 5 | Patrick Surtain II | 24 | LCB | 16 | 16 | 4 | 62 | 38 | 61.3 | 326 | 8.6 | 5.3 | 2 | 58.9 | 19.0 |
| 6 | Riley Moss | 24 | RCB | 14 | 14 | 1 | 103 | 67 | 65 | 747 | 11.1 | 7.3 | 4 | 95.4 | 16.8 |
| 7 | P.J. Locke | 27 | SS | 15 | 15 | 0 | 54 | 40 | 74.1 | 484 | 12.1 | 9 | 4 | 125.8 | 10.0 |
| 8 | Jonah Elliss | 21 | OLB | 17 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 10 | 90.9 | 113 | 11.3 | 10.3 | 1 | 139.8 | 10.0 |
| 9 | Alex Singleton | 31 | LB | 3 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 87.5 | 70 | 10 | 8.8 | 1 | 103.1 | 7.0 |
| 10 | Devon Key | 27 | DB | 17 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 5 | 45.5 | 95 | 19 | 8.6 | 2 | 115.5 | 2.5 |
| 11 | Kwon Alexander | 30 | LB | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 100 | 15 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 1 | 137.5 | 2.0 |
With Brandon Jones, Hafanga, Patrick Surtain II, Riley Moss and Jahdae Barron as the five starting DBs for the Broncos next season, the Broncos have, arguably, the best secondary in the NFL. With Ja’Quan McMillan as the CB4, I challenge you to find a better secondary on paper for 2025.
The Lions had the best pass defense in 2024 allowing a passer rating of 82.0 and one of their predicted starters at CB in 2025, DJ Reed, is a downgrade for them relative to Carlton Davis who started opposite Terrion Arnold last season.
