1 of 5

David Zalubowski/Associated Press

Arguably the biggest loss for the Broncos in free agency was defensive end Malik Jackson. He signed an $85.5 million deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars and received $42 million in guarantees from his new team.

Now the Broncos are left to find his replacement—and replacing a disruptive player like Jackson may prove to be difficult.

The primary player to look at here could be veteran Jared Crick, but is he the best option?

Crick has played under defensive coordinator Wade Phillips before during their time together with the Houston Texans. He’s a seasoned veteran with the strength to hold up at the point of attack. Crick is not a liability as a run defender, as he can set the edge and force plays back to the inside of the field.

Kubiak has liked what he’s seen from Crick so far this offseason: “Good things. I think we’re going to have a really good group. We’re going to play six guys. That’s what we do. We rotate them. I think it’s going to be really good.”

As good as Crick is at stuffing the run, he’s not going to generate much pressure as a pass-rusher. Crick has a career high of only 3.5 sacks, which he recorded in 2014. In order to get quarterback pressure like Jackson used to, the Broncos may end up turning to Vance Walker.

A free-agent addition last year for the Broncos, Walker played 337 snaps and snared 23 solo tackles and two sacks. He’s a bit more active than Crick off the edge, and Walker may be able to push his sack totals to five or six if he gets more playing time—especially in obvious passing situations this year.

Crick may win the starting job, but the Broncos could rotate him and Walker to make up for the loss of Jackson in 2016.