Broncos S Brandon Jones is evolving from “a bit of an unknown” to impactful

As the end of the Broncos’ training camp neared and their new prized safety remained a mere spectator, defensive coordinator Vance Joseph admitted he had concerns about Brandon Jones’ absence.

Jones signed with the Broncos in free agency, a key piece of the puzzle Denver was putting together defensively after moving on from Pro Bowl veteran Justin Simmons. He was joining a different system than the one he played in the first four seasons of his Miami career, with “different callings and a different language,” as Joseph put it. However, Jones suffered a hamstring injury on the first day of training camp, which ultimately sidelined him for the entire preseason and wiped out most of his highlight reel as a starter for Denver’s defense.

Joseph didn’t pretend this was a perfect scenario.

“It’s always a concern because playing football and being in a meeting room is different,” Joseph said in late August, as Jones was nearing the end of his rehabilitation. “It’s important to have him back on the field and getting reps. When boys are pressed for time, it is critical that they return on and off the field with control over their studies. Playing a game is playing a game. It’s not out of the way.”

It’s safe to say that Joseph’s anxiety about Jones has subsided. In a Week 3 win over the Buccaneers, the 26-year-old intercepted a pass, returned the fumble and returned both takeaways for a combined 71 yards. The only caveat – which Jones admitted came from his teammates – is that he didn’t score in any event.

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“I was a little too busy looking around,” Jones said the day after the Tampa Bay win. “A lot of people told me I should have gone straight and I would have had six. I took the difficult route and decided to just suck all the energy out of driving up and down the field.

In Sunday’s 10-9 win over the Jets, Jones committed a foul on the third play of the game, hitting a textbook tackle on winger Garrett Wilson, who knocked the ball off balance. The ball was recovered by Broncos defenseman Riley Moss, who returned the favor after Jones recovered a foul that Moss forced in the fourth quarter against the Buccaneers.

Jones became the first Broncos player since 2015 to record an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in the first four games of the season. He finished Sunday’s game with five tackles and a pass breakup that almost resulted in an interception.

.@BlessedJones33 forces you to dig, @R_moss5 is recovering 💪

📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/l9MFxDq5AY

— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) September 29, 2024

“I’m happy because there’s a little bit of unknown, it’s just not there (during training camp),” Broncos coach Sean Payton said. “Man, he has really good football instincts, he’s smart. The ball found him. He’s doing well.”

Heading into the offseason, the Broncos were looking to get younger and more athletic in the second division. They already waived veteran Kareem Jackson at the end of the 2023 season. Simmons, who signed after training camp with the Atlanta Falcons, was released just before his release, removing one of the Broncos’ longest-tenured players. The Broncos targeted Jones mainly because they liked the way he made plays in the air, mixing freely near the line of scrimmage while also being able to handle coverage on defense.

When Jones arrived in Denver and started the Denver defense, he noticed similarities to the ones he played in during his four years in Miami. However, defense was called differently. Since Jones missed training camp, he used his free time to master his calls.

“His biggest challenge was throwing out some of the things he knew,” second-team coach Jim Leonhard said. “It may be the same thing, but there are some nuances in the defense structure that he needs to forget and reprogram his brain.”

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Tyler Badie of the Broncos collapsed on the sideline against the Jets

Leonhard said that when Jones feels comfortable, he plays as fast as anyone. The Broncos saw this in the first four weeks of the season. Before Sunday’s game, Payton stressed to his team that beating the Jets would require playing in space. On the third play, Jones closed the ball quickly after Wilson made a short catch, placing his helmet on the ball and making an out-of-form tackle.

“He always flies around and finishes the game,” Leonhard said. “He’s the type of guy who will have a couple of games where you want them back, but he can also make five games that no one else does, just because of the effort, energy and finishing he has. You just try to stay as consistent as possible and eliminate some of the ones that can beat you and let him play and use his eyes and instincts.

SELECT!

Brandon Jones recovers the ball @Broncos.

📺: #DENvsTB – Sunday on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/gbDwujQh4b

— NFL (@NFL) September 22, 2024

Jones wasn’t the only question about his absence from camp. Safety Caden Sterns had not yet fully recovered from the knee injury he suffered last season when he entered camp, and the Broncos ultimately waived him in August. That left PJ Locke, who re-signed with the Broncos in March after taking over as the starting lineup last year, as the only safety with significant experience in Joseph’s system. But after four games, it would be hard to say that Locke and Jones didn’t spend a lot of time together on defense heading into the season. Both are regulars in the media, and Locke himself forced a turnover of sorts on Sunday when he screamed at the edge and sacked Aaron Rodgers on fourth down. They are part of a secondary that has shown its strength during a two-game winning streak. Moss, a second-year corner making his first appearance this season, has been outstanding in space, and his striking tackle against Tampa Bay is just one example.

“The takeaway is due to fumbles, strip bags and punches. We saw it and we continue to work on it,” Payton said when asked about the fighting tone the secondary has taken on. “There are teams that do it better than others. Then it becomes kind of contagious. … It’s exciting.”

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(Photo: Julio Aguilar / Getty Images)