Zach Allen got his bag, so he doesn’t need big sack totals to land a lucrative contract.

Nevertheless, the Broncos defensive lineman would like to join teammates Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper and become a member of the double-digit sack club.

“The way sacks go, there’s so many different factors that go into sacks, but being a double-digit sack guy would be awesome and something I’d really like to do,’’ said Allen, 28, in his seventh NFL season.

According to Next Gen Stats, Allen’s 67 quarterback pressures last season were the most among NFL interior defensive linemen. He had 40 quarterback hits and was named second-team All-Pro.

All of that was good enough for Allen last month to sign a four-year, $102 million contract extension, taking him through the 2029 season. But his career high in sacks remains the 8.5 he had last season.

When Jared Allen, a former star defensive end who was inducted last month into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, served as a Broncos guest coach in 2023, he said Zach Allen had the potential to be a 10-sack guy.

“At the end of the day, I’ve just got to handle my process the right way and if I do that, then good things usually come,’’ said the Broncos star, who has one sack in two games heading into Sunday’s game at the Los Angeles Chargers.

Guys playing on the interior defensive line, who are more bottled up and must focus on the run, don’t usually get the sack totals edge rushers do. And Denver’s edge rushers are indeed sack artists.

Bonitto had 13.5 last season, earning him earlier this month a four-year, $106 million contract extension. Cooper had 10.5 sacks in 2024, when he signed a four-year, $54 million extension midway through the season.

Bonitto and Cooper would welcome Allen to the double-digit sack club.

“He can do it 100%,’’ Bonitto said. “Just the way he rushes, the versatility he has to line up all across the D-line and being able to win those matchups, it’s not a lot of guys in the league that can do that. So he’s definitely a special rusher for sure.”

Bonitto had two games last season with two sacks and Cooper had one. But the team high for a game last season was Allen getting 3.5 in Week 17 at Cincinnati.

“Not only does (Allen) play well, but he’s a workaholic and he’s always crafting to get better,’’ Cooper said. “And you take the talent he already has, the work ethic that he has, and there’s no reason why he can’t get to double digits.”

If Allen does get there, he could use it as a negotiating tool for when he is next up for a contract extension. Perhaps in 2029.

Payton vs. Harbaugh

When Broncos coach Sean Payton was asked about Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh, he said, “I’ve said this before out of respect, I would rather him be in a different division, but he does a tremendous job with his team.”

No wonder Payton doesn’t like having Harbaugh in the AFC West. He has a 1-4 record against him entering Sunday’s game at SoFi Stadium.

But at least all the games have been close as well as dramatic.

In their first meeting, when Payton was coaching New Orleans and Harbaugh San Francisco, the 49ers defeated the Saints in a 2011 divisional playoff 36-32 on a 9-yard touchdown pass from Alex Smith to Vernon Davis with 9 seconds left.

In their second meeting, Payton got some revenge when the Saints beat the 49ers 23-20 in a 2013 regular-season game on a 31-yard field goal by Garrett Hartley on the final play. But then the next year in the regular season, San Francisco defeated New Orleans 27-24, getting a tying 45-yard field goal by Phil Dawson with 44 seconds left in regulation and then Dawson’s winning 35-yard field goal in overtime.

Payton moved on to the Broncos in 2023 and Harbaugh, after nine years at Michigan, to the Chargers last season. The Chargers won both matchups in 2024 in close fashion, 23-16 in Denver and 34-27 at SoFi Stadium. In the first one, the Broncos stormed back from a 23-0 deficit before coming up short. In the second, the Chargers overcame a 24-13 third-quarter deficit.

Through it all, Payton said he has had a “very good” relationship with Harbaugh as well as with his brother John Harbaugh, Baltimore’s head coach.

“I worked with his brother, John, at the Eagles,’’ Payton said of the two both being assistants in 1998. “Their father (Jack Harbaugh) was a fantastic (college) coach, and the two of them are fantastic coaches.”

With that in mind, what is Payton’s career record against John Harbaugh? He went 1-2 against his Ravens while with the Saints and is 0-1 against them with the Broncos for a 1-3 total. So that makes him 2-7 against the Harbaugh family.

What I’m hearing

—Broncos pass rushers were thrilled when Jared Allen was inducted into the Hall of Fame. “Dude is a monster,’’ Cooper said of the defensive end who had 136 sacks while playing in the NFL from 2004-15. “He was very dominant in the league.” Cooper and Zach Allen said they both got from the former star in 2023 tips on getting off the line of scrimmage faster. “He definitely was a big factor in my growth and and I’m definitely thankful for everything he did,’’ said Zach Allen. Bonitto said Jared Allen also was instrumental in showing Denver’s pass rushers a “lot of different hand movements.”

—For his second straight season in Denver, defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers is donating $1,000 to the Sarcoma Foundation of America for each sack and $25 for each tackle. He makes the donations in the memory of his late grandfather Billy Ray Myers, who helped raise him in Greenville, Texas, and who died of the cancer in February 2011. Franklin-Myers doesn’t have a sack in the first two games but did have a career-high seven last season. With that and with 40 tackles, he made an $8,000 donation.

What I’m seeing

—With Malcolm Roach out for at least the first four games of the season with a calf injury, that has led to increased snaps for Broncos reserve defensive lineman Eyioma Uwazurike. In last Sunday’s 29-28 loss at Indianapolis, he played a career-high 34 defensive snaps. Uwazurike is in his third season, having been suspended by the NFL in 2023 because of a sports gambling probe. “He’s in form,’’ Payton said of Uwazurike, who played 63 defensive snaps last season while getting into just four games. “It’s difficult to sit a year and then come back.”  Uwazurike, who played 15 snaps in the opener against Tennessee, said he has adjusted well to an increased role. “I feel like I’m in the best condition I can be,’’ he said. “I can play as many snaps as they need me to.”

—The Chargers, behind Justin Herbert, are No. 3 in the NFL in passing yards per game at 270, but they are just No. 26 in rushing yards per game at 85.5. Asked about the difference, Broncos running back J.K. Dobbins joked, “Maybe (because) they let number 27 go. Maybe that’s why.” Dobbins, who will face his former team Sunday, rushed for 905 yards last season with the Chargers before signing in June with Denver as a free agent. Chargers running backs, rookie Omarion Hampton and veteran Najee Harris, have just 72 and 33 yards, respectively, this season. Take away the 63 yards Herbert has rushed for in two games and Chargers running backs are averaging just 54 yards per game.