When the Denver Broncos selected Von Miller with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, the team knew a dynamic, explosive talent was joining their team. The Texas A&M product racked up 27.5 sacks in his last two seasons with the Aggies and steadily rose in the draft during the offseason, becoming the Broncos main target by February.
How exactly Miller will fit in with the defense head coach John Fox and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen implement remains the looking question. But he'll likely be a force in whatever role(s) he plays. According to some projections done by Football Outsiders that were done based on SackSEER (for more on SackSEER click here), Miller should be the top pass rusher from the 2011 draft. It projects 36.4 sacks for Miller through the first five years of his career. Noting that Miller always finds a way to stay involved in the play, Doug Farrar goes on to write:
Miller reminded me of Clay Matthews on tape because he could use his quickness to loop inside to slip through gaps, just as Matthews did for Pete Carroll at USC in 2009.
Matthews emerged in 2010 as a force to be feared with his 13.5 sacks, building on the 10 he had in 2009. Will Miller have that kind of impact in his first two years?
Coming in second is a player the Broncos will need to defend against twice: the Kansas City Chiefs' Justin Houston. Houston was a third-round pick this year and how he'll play with Tamba Hali will likely define his success.