3 awful AFC West signings that Chargers fans can laugh at

2. Broncos spend big for Zach Allen

Zach Allen is a solid football player, there is no question about that. That being said, a team can bring in a solid football player and still drastically overspend for said player. The Broncos are currently undergoing new owner syndrome where they want to make the splashiest moves and additions possible.

The Allen signing is an example of that. Denver vastly overpaid for a fine player like he was going to be a true difference-maker at the highest of levels.

Allen signed a three-year, $45.75 million contract with the Broncos this offseason. For those keeping track at home, that makes him the 14th-highest-paid interior defensive lineman in the entire sport. The Broncos are paying more for Allen this season than the Chargers are paying for both Austin Johnson and Sebastian Joseph-Day.

Allen is a fine player but he certainly is not worth that much money. Last season he recorded a career-high 35 quarterback pressures in 427 pass-rushing snaps, per Pro Football Focus. Prior to the 2022 season, he never reached 30.

Just to compare, Morgan Fox recorded 40 quarterback pressures playing the same position in 356 pass-rushing snaps last season. Fox recorded five more pressures in 71 fewer snaps. At his rate, he would have finished with 48 pressures if he had as many pass-rushing snaps as Allen. Allen is making 420% more than Fox is per year.

It is not like Allen was a run-stuffing specialist, either. His 6.4% run-stop rate ranked 77th out of 140 defensive linemen who finished with at least 100 run-defending snaps. And guess what? Fox had a better run-stop rate, too, at 6.6%.