ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- In all of the good the Denver Broncos' defense did during the 2016 season, there was that one nagging item that never was quite right.
The team’s run defense was simply never up to the standard the unit set in accomplishing the rest of its weekly to-do list. The Broncos were No. 4 in total defense, No. 4 in scoring defense, No. 3 in sacks and No. 1 against the pass.
But run defense? The Broncos were 28th in the league, surrendering 130.3 rushing yards per game.
In all, the Broncos gave up at least 140 yards rushing in seven games, and three teams -- Oakland, Tennessee and Kansas City -- gained at least 180. And it was an issue almost from the time defensive end Vance Walker suffered a season-ending knee injury in training camp.
Derek Wolfe also was never quite himself, with an elbow injury in November and a neck injury to close out 2016. By the end of the season, the Broncos had just five healthy defensive linemen on most game days.
And with that, here is the sixth installment in a daily position-by-position series about what kind of roster newly hired coach Vance Joseph inherits upon his arrival.
Friday: Defensive line
Monday: Linebackers
The Alpha: It’s Wolfe, by virtue of his play as well as the investment the Broncos made in him with a $36.7 million extension he signed last year. With Malik Jackson's departure in free agency, Wolfe had to be the Broncos’ main presence on the interior. He’s had some neck troubles in the past, so his late-season injury will be of at least some concern as the Broncos move through the offseason. He’s also played 16 games in just one of the past four seasons (2014). Wolfe is a significant matchup problem for opposing offenses when he’s at his best, but injuries have slowed him from time to time.
Salary cap: Wolfe leads the way along the defensive line with a scheduled cap hit of $7.93 million for 2017, followed by Jared Crick at $2.25 million. Those two, at least at the moment, are the only two Broncos players in the position group set to top $1 million; Adam Gotsis is at $894,900, Vontarrius Dora -- who was promoted from the practice squad late in the season -- is at $540,000, as is Kyle Peko. Those five players are the only defensive linemen who saw game action in 2016 who are also under contract for 2017.
Pending free agents: Walker, who missed the whole season but was a versatile player in the team’s 3-4 defense, is set to be an unrestricted free agent. Nose tackle Sylvester Williams, the team’s first-round pick in 2013, is also an unrestricted free agent because the Broncos elected not to pick up his fifth-year option at this point last year. Williams was not thrilled with that decision, so it would be easy to see him moving on when he gets the chance. Defensive end Billy Winn is also an unrestricted free agent after playing 2016 on a one-year deal.
What will John Elway do? The expected makeover of the offensive line has overshadowed to some degree the work the Broncos are expected to do along the defensive line. They love Wolfe as a player, but the injuries are starting to become a concern, and with three regular contributors in Williams, Walker and Winn set to hit the open market, the Broncos will be on the hunt for replacements, both in free agency and in the draft. Elway, the team's executive vice president of football operations/general manager, has said staying “great’’ on defense is the “No. 1 priority’’ of the offseason, so the run defense must be repaired. Too often the Broncos allowed teams to hold a lead because they could not stop opposing offenses from simply pounding away at them. And if you wonder why Von Miller had just one sack in the team’s final five games, a big reason was the Broncos’ defense didn’t force those offenses into passing situations nearly enough because Denver didn’t consistently win the line of scrimmage.