ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — In Week 7, defensive lineman Zach Allen will head back to the place where it all began.
As the Broncos take the field in Glendale, Arizona, and look to earn their third consecutive win, the matchup will perhaps hold some extra meaning for the Broncos' All-Pro defender, who spent the first four seasons of his career with the Cardinals after he was drafted 65th-overall by the team in 2019.
"Arizona — it's where I grew up basically in this league," Allen said Monday. "Obviously, faced some adversity there my first couple years in the league. I met 'VJ' [Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph] there, I was able to have [former defensive end] J.J. [Watt] as a mentor. Met some lifelong friends there. There are still some people, some staff members there that mean a lot to me. So, it is a special place. It's going to be an exciting weekend."
That special place laid a critical foundation for the development of a special player. Allen appeared in 45 games with 35 starts for the Cardinals, but even more valuable than the on-field experience he gained were the relationships he developed. In Arizona, Allen played opposite Watt, whom he described as a generous and valuable mentor. Arizona was also where Allen first got to work with and develop a relationship with Joseph, who served as the Cardinals' defensive coordinator for the entirety of Allen's tenure with the team.
"I think I owe a lot to 'VJ,'" Allen said. "I really don't think I'd be in this position without him. I think I'm really, really blessed and fortunate to obviously get drafted to Arizona with him and then to follow him here to Denver. I owe a lot of my success to him and obviously, we'll see how the head coaching stuff goes again but selfishly, I want to be with him forever. He's the best."
Even with valuable mentorship and coaching in Arizona, though, it wasn't until Allen arrived in Denver in 2023 that he truly began to understand his potential as an All-Pro-caliber player.
"Probably like the big, 'Okay I can really do this' was probably my first year here in Denver," Allen said. "… Realizing who I was playing with helped me out a lot. And then that year, my numbers weren't the flashiest, but I felt like I played at a high level and was doing it for the first time without playing with a first-ballot Hall of Famer in J.J. on the other side. That kind of gave me the confidence where going into that '24 season, I could really kind of take my game to the next level."
Allen did just that in 2024, earning second-team All-Pro honors for the first time in his career after posting a career-high 61 tackles, 40 quarterback hits, 15 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks. He followed that up with an even better campaign in 2025, recording a league-high 47 quarterback hits as well as 73 quarterback pressures, which was the most among all NFL interior defensive linemen, according to Pro Football Focus.
For Allen, the success he has had in Denver has not been coincidental. It has been the byproduct of choosing an organization, team, city and fan base that the now eighth-year player describes as a "perfect marriage."
"I guess there is a little bit of a leap of faith," Allen said of his decision to come to Denver in 2023. "I think the big thing in free agency was I wanted to come to a storied franchise and to a fan base that is 100 percent invested with the team. That's why I think Denver's so special. And as a player, you feel like you have this responsibility to the fans to perform at a high level. And then on top of that, VJ came. [Head Coach] Sean Payton is Sean Payton. You just look — obviously the year prior to me coming here wasn't the best, but the defense had a lot of great pieces and guys who I knew I would want to play with. It's just been kind of a perfect marriage, and [I'm] just really blessed to be here."
Allen has shown no signs of slowing down in 2026, and he currently leads the Broncos with 4.5 sacks. He has also posted 16 quarterback hits and four tackles for loss through six games. In Week 5 against the Chargers, Allen secured just the second strip-sack of his career, ultimately setting up Denver's go-ahead field goal in the win.
"Denver's just given me such a great environment and foundation to just be successful," Allen said. "I'm super grateful [I got] to come here, and [I'm] really proud to be a Bronco."
As Allen now prepares to return to his former city and face his former team, there is acknowledgement and recognition of the valuable time he spent there. But with that, there is an even greater appreciation for everything that has followed.
"When you say Denver Broncos, it really carries weight," Allen said. "… The Broncos are easily up there in the most storied franchises. You only have one career, so being able to play for an organization like that, I couldn't say no."
