Eagles' Domination of Chiefs Highlights Importance of DL for Broncos

Trenches. Trenches. Trenches. Coming off of the Philadelphia Eagles' absolutely dominant 40-22 throttling of the Kansas City Chiefs, NFL teams are poring over their current roster builds and wondering how to best replicate the reigning Super Bowl Champions.

Based on what we saw, the obvious answer is to invest early and often along the offensive and defensive lines of scrimmage. During Howie Roseman’s tenure as Philadelphia's general manager dating back to 2010, the Eagles have continuously invested premium resources along the lines of scrimmage.

Philadelphia used a total of 10 of its 15 first-round draft picks on the offensive and defensive lines. Seven of those selections were on the defensive line. The Eagles have valued their fronts, and the results have been bountiful.

Sporting a defensive line with four former first-round picks and few dice roles on athletic specimens who fell to the middle of the draft, the Eagles harassed Patrick Mahomes all game in Super Bowl LIX. The Eagles blitzed Mahomes a total of zero times, allocating bodies to coverage as opposed to the rush or stopping the run, and simply won their one-on-one matchups.

Mahomes was pressured on 60% of his dropbacks, nearly as often as the last time Kansas City lost a Super Bowl vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when he was pressured on 55%. The Eagles’ defensive line being able to win by rushing only four is a formula that works for winning football games at any level of the game.

Furthermore, it's not just simply the first string making an impact but also the second wave. There is no positional group that rotates as much as the defensive line, so having starting-caliber players who can fulfill different roles across the first and second string of the depth chart is imperative for fielding a good defense.

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The Broncos Takeaway

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton, GM George Paton, and CEO Greg Penner. — May 13, 2023, Englewood, Colorado, USA: Broncos Head Coach SEAN PAYTON, left, with General Mgr. GEORGE PATON, center, and CEO GREG PENNER look on from the field during Broncos Rookie Training Camp at the Denver Broncos Practice Facility Saturday afternoon. | Hector Acevedo / IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

So what can Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton and GM George Paton take away from the Eagles beatdown of the Chiefs?

The Broncos' most obvious pressing need is for offensive weaponry around quarterback Bo Nix going into his second year. Outside of Courtland Sutton and some promising end-of-year development from Marvin Mims Jr., the Broncos' cupboard is fairly empty at the offensive skill positions.

With that said, given the value and importance of having waves of talent at the position, the defensive line should be just as viable as a position worthy of the Broncos' No. 20 overall draft pick, or one of their two Day 2 selections.

How could that be? Aren’t the Broncos coming off of a record-setting sack season? Yes, but the reality is the current state of the D-line room is fragile. Starting defensive tackle D.J. Jones and his 510 snaps are hitting free agency this offseason.

Denver has to find another space-eating nose option to partner with Malcolm Roach along the interior. Looking ahead should also be a “check engine” sign for the Broncos on the defensive front. Every single one of the team's other top snap earners on the interior — Zach Allen, John Franklin-Myers, and Roach — will be on the final year of their contract in 2025.

The D-line room is hurtling toward turnover, even if the Broncos hand out a massive contract to Allen and can keep one or two of Jones, Roach, or Franklin-Myers. The play of Jordan Jackson and Eyioma Uwazurike should not dissuade any reasonable team from investing in replacements, as neither has shown anything to believe they're viable developmental difference-makers.

On top of how much personnel turnover is heading Denver's way upfront, we have Allen's untenable snap count total. He played (by far) the highest snap count total of any interior defensive lineman in the NFL this season, with 964 snaps. The next in line was the Dallas Cowboys' Osa Odighizuwa with 859, the Las Vegas Raiders' Adam Butler with 856, and the Los Angeles Rams’ Kobie Turner with 834.

The 105 more snaps Allen played compared to the next-highest snap earners is even more concerning, considering he played an entire game's worth of snaps more than those players, despite missing Week 14. Allen had an All-Pro season, but the number of snaps he played is simply not a viable long-term strategy to maximize his play and career going forward.

Again, the Broncos definitely need offensive weaponry to raise the ceiling of the offense. It’s not like the Eagles didn’t have fantastic weapons on offense having four total former first-rounders (only one of which they actually drafted themselves) on the team. The Broncos need more offensive sizzle, and it's one of the many viable paths for the Broncos to spend in free agency or the draft.

However, the reality is the Eagles got to the top of the NFL mountain and dominated the Chiefs thanks to their strict adherence to using premium draft picks on premium positions and continuously throwing another log on the roaring fire of their offensive and defensive lines.

With all that said, let's review. How does a team suffocate the Chiefs and beat up on Mahomes?

Trenches. Trenches. Trenches.

The Broncos Takeaway

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