Von Miller signs contract extension: Three Takeaways
Miller is worth every penny to the Broncos
Von Miller will become the richest non-quarterback in NFL history with his newly inked $114.5 million/six-year deal with over $70 million in guarantees.
1. Miller is worth every penny
I don’t love ranking players. They’re too black and white and ignore differing schemes or assignments. Rather, I like putting players into tiers and clump a series of guys together rather than split hairs between them. There is no denying that Miller is in the top-tier of edge-rushers in the league. He, Khalil Mack, Michael Bennett and Justin Houston form the group of most devastating beasts flying off the edge (in Bennett’s case also the interior).
Miller’s individual production is staggering, per ProFootballFocus Miller has averaged 4.8 pressures per game since entering the league, a remarkable feat. He is a dominating presence on each and every down and his run through the playoffs; in which he detonated the rhythm of the Patriots rhythm-based offense and made game-changing plays in the Super Bowl was about as big of an impact as any edge-rusher has ever had in his team winning it all.
In a market in which Olivier Vernon is being paid $52.5 million for a really good second-half of one season, it’s undeniable that Miller is worth every single penny John Elway and the Broncos just threw at him.
2. Miller makes everyone around him better
It’s not just that Miller is individually great; it’s how he fits into the structure of a team defense. He is such a dominating talent of the edge that offenses are forced to alter their own structure; double-team with a tight-end, chip him with a back, get the ball out of the quarterback’s hand rather than take more shots down the field. All of it makes everyone’s life on defense easier and everyone around him better.
When offenses opt to double-team Miller that frees up plenty of one-vs-one opportunities for the interior rushers (Derek Wolfe and Malik Jackson in 2015) or the edge-rusher opposite him (DeMarcus Ware, Shane Ray or Shaq Barrett).
One other thing that often goes unstated, is how diverse Miller’s skill-set is and how that allows the Broncos to be so creative upfront. His ability to play in space, win with speed or overpower bigger offensive tackles allows Denver to try different things.
The 2015 season saw more teams widen their defensive fronts. The Broncos would spend their majority of obvious passing situations with two three-techniques and two stood up linebackers, widening their front and allowing them to get more creative with stunts and twists while also make it really difficult for the offense to double-team any of the pass-rushers.
They would also get into what Rex Ryan terms the “radar” defense; a sub-package in which you play with one head-up nose tackle and throw out a series of athletic linebackers who can come from any angle and beat any member of the offensive line (perhaps just confuse them). Or they would simply move Miller all over the front like a defensive chess piece and force the offense to adjust their protection pre-snap or change their play call.
That style only works when you have a freakish athlete who can beat any member of an offensive line with speed or power. Miller is that guy, and there’s very few of them.
And it’s not jus the front who benefits. Having a front-four that features Miller and the rest of the Broncos pass-rush means they can simply rush four and still generate pressure, meaning the Broncos can throw five or six defensive backs into coverage.
3. Now is the time to sign star players to big contracts
Kevin Clark wrote a really interesting piece for The Ringer this week in which he made that case that superstar players have become a market inefficiency. Clubs have become a little gun-shy on signing their own stars or guys in free agency to big-time contracts and would rather go bargain bin shopping, while the salary cap explodes with the new TV deals.
The contracts of star players go up incrementally with each contract just topping the one signed before it, while the salary cap continues to take big leaps in a booming TV rights marketplace. This won’t last forever, but while it does it is wise for franchises to wrap-up their star players and frontload the deals as much as possible.
The cap for the 2016 season is $155.27 million a $12 million leap from the year before. That means that Miller, who will count as $11.4 million to the Broncos salary cap in 2016, is earning 7.3% of the cap for next season. The numbers may be exploding but the percentages of the cap aren’t exploding at the same rate, and it would be hard to deny that Miller isn’t worth 7% of the Broncos cap/roster.
Originally published at thereadoptional.com on July 17, 2016.
