Among the strengths for Denver’s defensive front so far this season is the group’s depth.
The Broncos played a chunk of a game last month against San Francisco without defensive tackle D.J. Jones. They’re now without outside linebacker Randy Gregory (knee) for at least the next three games. They’ve rotated on the interior defensive line through a group that includes not just the starting trio of Jones, Dre’Mont Jones and DeShawn Williams, but also Mike Purcell and rookies Matt Henningsen and Eyioma Uwazurike.
Sharing the workload is good, but Dre’Mont Jones rarely needs to.
The fourth-year man out of Ohio State is playing the largest percentage of snaps on the defensive line, and he’s been on the field more than any non-secondary player on the Broncos’ defense.
That is in part because of injuries Denver has dealt with at inside linebacker, but Jones’ 83% play rate through five games is a heavy workload by any measure. Among defensive linemen, he easily paces the Broncos and is among the top dozen league-wide, per FootballOutsiders data.
“He’s built for it,” outside linebacker Bradley Chubb said. “He’s one of those guys that comes in and gets extras every day, makes sure his body is right. He’s in tip-top shape for what we need him to do and he’s been doing it well, man. When he’s out there, he’s one of the most effective defensive tackles out there. His get-off is crazy, he destroys run blocks. Itap fun to see him play. ”
Indeed, Jones is making plays across the board. So far this season he’s got 2 1/2 sacks and 15 tackles (three for loss) and has been reliable both rushing the passer and against the run.
“He’s always shown the ability to rush the quarterback and he’s been a good football player,” defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero said. “Not just for him but for anybody, our challenge is always to play the run game and give ourselves opportunities to rush the passer. We just feel like if we stop the run, get more pass opportunities, with all the rushers we have that we’re going to get some ops.”
Opportunity has come in spades for Jones, a part-time starter over the past two years. There is still a lot of season ahead, but he said so far the added work hasn’t had an impact on his physical condition.
“This is new for me, but I like it,” Jones said. “It just gives me more opportunity to try to make something happen. … I put my body in the best place possible and I think I feel better off of 85% of snaps as opposed to the last couple of years I’d probably get 40 or 50 and I felt worse.
“Luckily enough, I’ve been taking care of the things I need to take care of for my health.”
Jones actually played the smallest snap share of his season last week against the Colts at 73.5%, but in each of the four games prior he was on the field for upward of 83%. He said he didn’t know when the season began that he would be counted on to this extent but he’s enjoying the challenge.
“The rhythm is better. You feel confident in the decisions you make and feel confident in your thought process,” Jones said. “I like being out there that much.”
He might be holding the point of attack on a double-team alongside Purcell and D.J. Jones on first down and running a stunt with Baron Browning on third-and-long. After all, if the Broncos’ defense is on the field, there’s a good chance Dre’Mont Jones is, too.
“Itap not even anything he’s done physically. Itap all mental for him and his maturity,” Chubb said. “Last year we played the Chiefs and he jumped offsides and I was like, ‘Dre, man, come on, you can’t do that’ and we got into an arguing match. At that point itap like, ‘OK, I should probably approach it different or whatever.’ This year against the Raiders he had one and he came up to me and said, ‘Thatap completely on me and I promise I’ll be better.’ He was better throughout the whole game, made plays the whole game. Just that maturity aspect for him.
“Physically he’s been gifted since he got here and itap all coming to fruition now.”
