Give defensive tackles their own meeting room, and the Broncos would have to replace desk chairs with benches.
Taking up ample space would be fat guys who can dunk, heavyweight weightlifters who can run, veterans who are wise, kids who must learn.
There would be first-, second- and third-round talents, early-round disappointments and undrafted overachievers.
The Broncos’ defensive tackles have a little bit of everything — and a huge amount of everything — except their own meeting room. Even with all of the construction at the team’s Dove Valley headquarters, the defensive tackles must share a room with the defensive ends, in part because guys such as Derek Wolfe and Malik Jackson are interchangeable, but also because there isn’t a room big enough to hold all of these behemoths.
This figures to be the deepest group of defensive tackles the Broncos carry into a season since Gerard Warren and Trevor Pryce anchored the 2005 team, which played in the AFC title game.
“It (stinks) as an offensive lineman when you have a six- or seven-play period and after the third or fourth play, you see a fresh defensive tackle coming in,” said Broncos left guard Orlando Franklin.
The defensive tackle group is so deep, the Broncos probably will have to make some difficult decisions come roster-setting time.
“It’s one of those things where you can’t worry about the numbers game,” Jackson said. “Of course you notice it. When you go into OTAs, you count. But I’m just trying to build off last year and not worry about the numbers.”
After quarterback Peyton Manning, the buzz at Dove Valley this offseason was created by, well, the buzz from saws and other power tools. But also by the additions of defensive end DeMarcus Ware, cornerback Aqib Talib and strong safety T.J. Ward.
The success of any defense, though, begins up front and runs down the middle.
The Broncos have Terrance Knighton, who was so good while starting every game at right defensive tackle last season that his nickname, “Pot Roast,” went national — as did his commercials.
Knighton is flanked by Sylvester Williams, a first-round draft pick last year, or Kevin Vickerson, a 10-year NFL veteran who probably was the team’s best interior defender when healthy last season. Wolfe, a second-round pick in the 2012 draft who made six sacks as a rookie, and Jackson, a fifth-rounder who made six sacks last season in his first year of meaningful playing time, move inside from their end positions on passing downs.
Mitch Unrein, the pride of Eaton, is an undrafted grinder who has reached his fourth season through versatility, desire and technique. He will be pushed this year by Marvin Austin, a 2011 second-round pick of the New York Giants who has been playing with the Broncos’ first-team defense during training camp this week.
Sione Fua is a former third-round draft pick who signed late with the Broncos last year. Although he’s been practicing from down on the depth chart, Fua has been disrupting plays during camp.
“It’s like we have five guys going for one spot,” Knighton said. “It makes it so the starters can’t relax. The best defenses in the NFL have D-lines that have that depth. Seattle for instance; their D-line was eight deep and they were just coming in waves. That’s just something we want to build in our group.”
Knighton and Vickerson are the most imposing in the defensive tackle fraternity. Both are 330-something pounds and former high school basketball stars. Wolfe is 290 pounds, with seemingly little body fat. Williams and Austin played at North Carolina and might have the greatest upside.
Vickerson said only once before did he play with a defensive tackle group this good. That was during the 2008 and 2009 seasons when his Tennessee Titans were anchored by Albert Haynesworth in his prime.
“It’s all about how it comes together,” Vickerson said. “We can be the best on paper. But paper never did (expletive) in this league.”
The Broncos have so many quality defensive tackles, two of their top three, Vickerson and Williams, were rarely, if ever, paired together until they decided to mix in some walk-through reps last week.
Vickerson and Williams prefer playing the left side. It wasn’t until a hip injury felled Vickerson for the season in 2013 that Williams started getting playing time.
When Wolfe went down with a season-ending illness, Unrein nearly became an overtaxed rotational player. He went from playing in 28 percent of the snaps in Week 2 and Week 3 against the Giants and Oakland, to 50 and 48 percent in Week 13 and Week 14 against Kansas City and Tennessee.
There should be more backups to the backups this year.
“That’s a good position to have depth at because it keeps us fresh, especially during practice and the preseason games,” Unrein said. “I feel like we have really, really good depth. It’s not like we have our starters and then it drops off. I feel like our 1s, 2s and 3s can play.”
But where do they all sit?
Mike Klis: mklis@denverpost.com or twitter.com/mikeklis
Affordable production
Not to say defensive tackles are unappreciated, but the Broncos’ top eight defensive tackles (Derek Wolfe and Malik Jackson are ends who move inside on passing downs) are scheduled to make a combined $9.17 million this year — nearly $4 million less than the $13 million defensive end DeMarcus Ware will draw:
Defensive tackle ……. 2014 salary
Terrance Knighton ……….. $2.5 million*
Kevin Vickerson ………….. $2 million**
Mitch Unrein ………………. $1.43 million
Sylvester Williams ………. $749,625
Derek Wolfe ……………….. $710,017
Sione Fua …………………… $645,000
Marvin Austin …………….. $570,000
Malik Jackson …………….. $570,000
Total ………………… $9.17 million
*Includes $1 million in game bonuses.
**Includes $750,000 in game bonuses.
— Mike Klis, The Denver Post
