Von Miller knows how to get after the quarterback.
In his six seasons in the NFL, the Denver Broncos’ outside linebacker has done so 73.5 times.
When the Oakland Raiders’ Khalil Mack told Peter King of the MMQB that he wanted to log 30 sacks in 2017, most of the world chuckled. Miller wasn’t one of those people.
“I think it’s doable to Khalil,” Miller said after the Broncos’ sixth day of training camp practice on Wednesday. “He’s a great player. He was at the Pass Rush Summit and just watching him play, it’s definitely doable. There’s not too many offensive lineman that can block him out here; he’s a great player.”
For reference, former New York Giant Michael Strahan holds the single-season sack record at 22.5, which he set in 2001. Thirty sacks would be more than five teams registered, and as many as the New Orleans Saints had in 2016. Khalil Mack, last year’s Defensive Player of the Year, has 30 total sacks over the course of his three year career.
Thirty sacks is a tall task to say the least, but Von Miller has an idea on how one would hit that number.
“You’ve got to get 10 in that first month, which is doable,” Miller said. “You get two and a half, two and half the next game, two and a half the next game after that. You might miss one game but then you get two and a half so we’ve got ten in five games right there. It’s definitely doable.”
While Miller didn’t come out and say that he could eclipse 30 sacks, is sure seems like he’s thought about it quite a bit.
“Teams are going to chip you, that’s just the gospel,” Miller said on Wednesday. “You’ve got to take advantage of your pass rush opportunities. If you get five open rushes, you’ve got to win all five of those rushes and out of those five you might get two or three sacks. That’s the math that I have on it. Out of all of the rushes in a game, out of those five plays, you’ve got to get home on those plays to make it happen. It’s definitely doable especially for a player like Khalil.”
Miller’s career-best 18.5 sacks came in 2012, his second year in the NFL. Since his rookie season, Miller has been one of the best, if not the best, pass rushers in the NFL. If anyone could hit the 30 single-season sack mark, it would be Miller, and he’s willing to work for it.
“I just work,” Miller said. “Every single day when we get a break, I go work. I’m not going home, going to get lunch or taking a break. I’m getting in the facility all day. All the time that I get, I like to take advantage of it, whether it’s the walk through time, the weight room time, or the lunch time—I like to take advantage of every single minute that I’ve got and really try to transfer that into my game.”
There’s no doubt Miller is on the path to greatness, and even if the work doesn’t translate to 30 sacks in a season, he’s putting in the work to get as close to the number as he can.
“I feel like all of the greats did that. DeMarcus (Ware) did that,” Miller said. “He stayed extra and did some ab work. [Former Broncos QB] Peyton [Manning] did that. [Former Broncos QB] Tim Tebow was one of the warriors in taking advantage of all the time that he had. That’s what I’m trying to do, I’m trying to take advantage of all of the time that I have to improve my game.”
