ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — After a breakout 2024 campaign, Broncos guard Quinn Meinerz isn't resting on his accomplishments. Instead, he's raising the bar.
Meinerz earned first-team All-Pro honors last season for the first time in his career, allowing a league-best 3.6-percent pressure rate and surrendering only one sack.
Developing from a third-round pick from Division III Wisconsin-Whitewater into one of the NFL's top interior linemen, Meinerz has already posted significant accomplishments. Still, the 25-year-old believes his best football is yet to come.
"I'm trying to create a gap of being the best, and I can improve in all phases and continue to be more consistent," Meinerz said Thursday. "There's still a lot I can do to improve in the run game specifically. Every single year you have to keep sharpening pass protection, because these guys are incredible athletes across the entire defensive line. It's an uphill battle every single year, but I feel really great about the teammates I have to push me to be the best, along with our coaching staff."
Ahead of his fifth season, Meinerz will have the advantage of honing his technique against one of the league's most productive defensive lines from a year ago.
"It's incredible to be able to go against Zach Allen every single day," Meinerz said. "I win some, he wins some, and it's a nonstop battle. We both have a ton of passion and grit for this game. When we're out there [we're] battling, and then when we're done, we're asking, 'Hey, why did you do that? Why did you do this?' We're bouncing ideas off of each other, because he also has that drive to be the best in the league. It's incredible to build work together with these guys. D.J. Jones is a hard person to move in the run game, and John Franklin-Myers — we have such depth at all of these positions that I have to wake up every morning preparing to go against these guys. It's great to have a great defensive line and a great offensive line going together because it's only going to make us better."
Meinerz, who served as a team captain for the first time in 2024, will also aim to make strides as a leader by staying more true to his own personality.
"I think I put too much pressure on myself to fit into a role vs. just being myself and being who I am," Meinerz said. "I feel a lot less pressure about any of that this year. Who I am is more than good enough, and that was something I struggled with last year. I'm excited to have that mentality moving forward and not having to battle through that."
Using his size, power and athleticism, Meinerz has become a reliable presence on Denver's offensive line and a leader on and off the field. But as the Broncos aim to return to the playoffs, his focus remains firmly on the team rather than on the competition or any media narratives.
"I'm focused on this Denver Broncos team right now that we're trying to develop," Meinerz said.
