Shout down Ron Jaworski at an airport terminal and the former NFL quarterback who still watches film of every game delivers unsolicited praise of the big man who famously goes by Pot Roast.

Run into an NFL coach on the streets of Seattle and in the midst of a conversation on DeMarcus Ware and Von Miller, he veers toward Terrance “Pot Roast” Knighton and how remarkable it is that such a big man can play so well.

Live action can do the unthinkable and make a defensive tackle, even one as enormous as the 335-pound-or-so Knighton, disappear. To those who study film, though, Knighton stands out from that scrummed pile of humanity.

“He’s an agile, 300-plus guy, and you don’t find too many other ones like that,” said Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib, who played the past two seasons with the New England Patriots. “I only know one other one: Vincent Wilfork. You get your name mentioned in the same vein as Vince Wilfork, you’re on the right path.”

And cut a wide swath. Ware and Miller are the most renowned on the Broncos’ defensive line because as defenders coming off the edge, they penetrate the backfield and occasionally sack the quarterback. But it’s Knighton who arguably has been the best among the Broncos’ defensive linemen through the first three games.

This is a run-stuffing, pocket-pushing force who takes on double-team blocks while almost never winding up on the ground. And it’s not just brawn and agility that might be sending Knighton to his first Pro Bowl berth, but a high football IQ.

In the Broncos’ most recent game, against the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 21, Knighton knew from the way the center was working him that another blocker was going to move in. When the second blocker arrived, Knighton wasn’t blindsided.

Smarts was also behind Knighton’s two most visible plays this season — a deflection of Alex Smith’s fourth-down, goal-to-go pass when the defensive tackle read an arms-raised situation and the quarterback’s eyes to preserve the Broncos’ win against the Kansas City Chiefs, and a blocked field goal against Seattle.

Actually, the blocked kick, like so much of Knighton’s other work, again required the keen-eyed inspection from the film room. Knighton got a finger on Steven Hauschka’s 46-yard field-goal attempt.

To the naked eye, it looked like Hauschka badly mishit the ball. It was initially recorded as a kick that missed wide left.

The strength of a Knighton finger, though, is equal to another man’s arm.

“Usually in that field-goal situation I play inside closer to the center, and Marvin (Austin) plays outside on the right,” Knighton said. “But all that week, we were told on long field goals this guy kicks low balls. So on that field goal I switched it up with Marvin to get a better angle.”

There was reason to wonder how Knighton would play this season because he was dealing with fame for the first time. They call it the limelight, but it’s been known to make lemons out of first-time inhabitants.

Knighton first started drawing attention outside the film room when his sack of Tom Brady in the AFC championship game got him large play on that night’s highlight shows and a write-up in Sports Illustrated.

A national tire commercial and his own local radio show have followed. But so has Knighton’s dominant play from the second-half of last season.

Just because Knighton is heavy doesn’t mean he got full of himself.

“The national attention, the commercial, all that’s fun,” Knighton said. “But it’s all about winning. With team success comes player success. The attention from the fans, social media, that’s fun, but I know it comes from winning. And it comes from knowing what to do off the field, being a good role model, and carrying yourself as a professional.”

Knighton admitted he got a jolt when his teammates elected him as a defensive captain this season. As the oldest of four brothers in a household where a father was never present, Knighton always has understood the responsibility that comes with the honor of having people look up to him.

“After the game I try to sign as many autographs as I can,” he said. “When I was young I didn’t have a role model. Taking a picture with a kid and signing an autograph can do so much for him. We have a little brother, and I see the impact I have on him. He sees me on TV, and he wants to be like me.

“In the past, in Jacksonville, I would string together some really good games and then I’d relax. I learned from that. I grew up. My teammates are depending on me to be there. Guys look to me to do the right things. My little brother, fans, everybody looks to me to do the right thing.”

Mike Klis: mklis@denverpost.com or twitter.com/mikeklis