ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Jurrell Casey might not know much about the Broncos just yet, but he at least he already knows a good deal about Von Miller.
The two have gotten to know one another as teammates for four of the previous five Pro Bowls (Miller missed the 2016 Pro Bowl as the Broncos prepared for Super Bowl 50), but until Casey gets a crash course in Broncos history following his trade to Denver, that will have to do for now.
"Anybody that knows me, that knows anything about me, they know I don't really watch too much sports," Casey said on a conference call with Denver media on Thursday. "But I know they won plenty of Super Bowls. I know they've been winning. I know Von Miller and [Bradley] Chubb, those guys are some great pass rushers over there over these last couple years."
Though Casey said the two haven't spent much time together previously, Miller has extended offers to attend his Pass Rush Summit the past few years. He's yet to attend one, but that could change soon.
"This might be the best year to attend now that we're teammates," Casey said. "I'll try to make sure I hit him up on the offer. [I got] good words from Wesley Woodyard, one of my former teammates, who told me highly [regarded] things about him, how good of a teammate he is, how much stuff he does around the community and things like that. I'm looking forward to getting out there and meeting him."
Casey may not know Miller well on a personal level, but he sounded well aware of the impact playing alongside Miller — and Bradley Chubb, too — could have on him and the defense.
"Those guys are amazing pass-rushers," Casey said. "To see how those guys play, the effort they give every game, the tenacity — just being around them, being at the Pro Bowl [with Miller], the leader mindset that I've seen from him from being in the Pro Bowl around him and just talking with him a little bit, those guys are great. And they're [each] a hell of a pass rusher. What else can a guy like me who loves to pass-rush and get after the quarterback ask for but two edge rushers who can collapse the pocket and make the job a lot easier for me, where I don't have to push 100 guys backward and push them too far? They're going to push the quarterback into the pocket and make the job easy. Hey, nobody can complain about that, right?"
Casey, who is one of just 10 NFL players to record at least five sacks in each of the past seven seasons, said that a multi-level pass rush like that should create other benefits that help more than just the defense. And if that proves true, the Broncos' larger goal of returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2015 will be in sight.
"The biggest thing is just doing my job, making sure I put pressure on the quarterback, making sure I'm stopping the run," Casey said. "First thing, we make sure we can stop the run and make sure we're making the game easier for our DBs. If we can do that and make sure we get a lot of turnovers to help our offense, it puts them in great field position to make sure we put a lot of points up in the games. The playoffs will take care of itself."
