Malcolm Roach loved baseball. Not as much as he loved football. But he was convinced his future was on the diamond — not as a diamond in the rough in the NFL.
“I played first, catcher and third. It sounds crazy, but I was actually better at baseball. I played travel ball and really enjoyed it,” Roach told The Post. “I was a power hitter.”
He still is. He has simply replaced a bat with shoulder pads and a helmet.
Roach is a big reason why the Broncos went from being unable to stop a candidate from running for city council to becoming one of the best rush defenses in the NFL.
Denver ranked third in yards allowed and second in yards per carry last season.
“We had to stop the run better. How were we going to do that? We had some pieces in place,” general manager George Paton said. “But signing Malcolm Roach was a huge addition – it could’ve been our best addition in the offseason in free agency.”
Roach, 27, is not well known to fans, but he is impossible to miss inside the locker room or at practice. He has an easy smile, infectious sense of humor and a willingness to dispense justice.
“He brings leadership,” coach Sean Payton said. “And one of his great traits is that he doesn’t have bad days.”
Do the math in your head, hit the plus sign twice for inside linebacker Dre Greenlaw and safety Talanoa Hufanga, and it is easy to see why it adds up to the Broncos having the NFL’s best defense.
Roach isn’t buying it. That title must be earned not given.
“At the end of the day it’s still about having a beginner’s mentality from Day One,” Roach said. “I felt like last year we put in a lot of work to become a good defense. I won’t say great yet. But, we have talent at every level.”
So how do they go from most improved to top of class? It starts off the field. The way Roach sees it, players don’t have to like each other. They have to love each other. It creates ownership, accountability and honest communication.
“You have to really know your teammates. I know there are certain things I can tell D.J. (Jones). We can yell at each other all day like brothers, but the job is going to get done and we will be good. But I know I can’t just go to JFM (John Franklin-Myers) yelling all the time or Zach (Allen) yelling all the time,” Roach said. “You have to put in time to be able to talk to them that way. That is the special thing about this group. We knew that from Day One. We felt that vibe.”
Humility and confidence exist because of defensive coordinator Vance Joseph. He allows personalities to blossom, but stresses the importance of players knowing their roles. Taking his cue from CU legend Bill McCartney, Joseph views “camaraderie as four times more important than the physical traits.”
But can we be honest? This group has eye-opening talent, the most since 2015. It starts with Defensive Player of the Year Pat Surtain, and includes Allen, and edge rushers Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper, whom Roach considers “the best tandem in the league.”
Roach believes this group can “get really scary” if they can consistently generate pressure without blitzing, allowing the secondary to mix in zone coverage. That should translate to more takeaways, forcing quarterbacks to ignore the Do Not Disturb sign Surtain II places on one side of the field.
The Broncos set a franchise-record with 63 sacks last season.
And what happens next could be better? Really?
“Yes, because we are still hungry. We have a lot of young guys who are still unproven,” Roach said. “We have another level we can get to. We know what we can be. But it’s like coach Payton tells us, ‘keep your head down and carry a lunch pail.’ If we do that, the results will take care of themselves.”
Roach, who will be a free agent at season’s end, remains a critical component. While most defensive tackles are built like something you have to defrost every two months, Roach plays at 6-foot-3, 290 pounds, his athleticism a reminder of how he once ran the 200-meter dash in high school.
His agility is unique. He dropped into coverage once last season, and he is strong enough to make it difficult for one man to block him. He finished last season with career-highs in tackles (43), tackles for loss (five), sacks (2.5) and quarterback hits (eight).
“I know when I first got here, we had a talk about what had happened (in 2023), and I was like that was unacceptable. I can’t be a part of a group like that,” Roach said. “We were able to talk openly to each other because there is so much respect. We all want each other to be our best.”
Life cannot get much better for Roach. While he recently returned to Baton Rouge, La., to host his Elite Football Camp, he has established roots in Colorado. He stayed here this offseason to train, stressing “that is the culture that has been created.” He also attended Nuggets, Avs and Rockies games, leaving a lasting impression.
“The city supports you, you really feel they are behind you. You can tell they want winners around here,” Roach said. “You have (Nikola) Jokic in basketball, Pat Surtain and Bo Nix in football, (Nate) MacKinnon with the Avs and Ezequiel Tovar is an up-and-coming star for the Rockies. I love it here. I sit home and call my parents and tell them, ‘I don’t want to leave Denver.’^”
There is unfinished business for Roach and this defense. Getting good was never the goal.
“We are really motivated because last year showed us that we can do this. We’ve got a good squad together. Like coach said, ‘We are entering the start of our window.’ We’ve seen what we have in 10 (Bo Nix). He’s one of the best in the league and only going to get better. And we know what we’ve got upfront,” Roach said. “But we haven’t done anything yet. We have to keep putting in that work.”
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