Bo Nix creates optimism, but the Broncos will be SOL if they don’t control the LOS.
Nix already fits this offense like it was designed with him in mind — spoiler alert, it was — but it will not matter if the Broncos are not stronger at the line of scrimmage.
Which brings me to today’s topic: nose tackle D.J. Jones.
He is big. He is strong. And he is capable of stopping someone from running faster than the Democratic Party. If not born, he was trained for this.
“I like putting my hands on somebody. Then their head goes back and I displace them from their position, and I hear the air go out of their body legally,” Jones told me recently. “I like that.”
This is why Jones is still on the team. He has the potential to wreck first and second downs.
Jones, 29, is in the final season of a three-year contract. There was speculation that the Broncos might move on from him as part of their reorganization/rebuilding/restructuring. They made no effort to keep veteran linebacker Josey Jewell, happily traded receiver Jerry Jeudy at his request and cut Pro Bowl safety Justin Simmons.
Jones remained. This was by design. He is a human detour.
Payton wants to win at the point of attack on both sides of the ball. He believes most games are decided there. The Broncos have shown this through their financial commitment to the offensive line — $126 million guaranteed to right tackle Mike McGlinchey, left guard Ben Powers and right guard Quinn Meinerz. And this offseason, they bolstered their defensive front, acquiring defensive end John Franklin-Myers and signing tackles Malcolm Roach and Angelo Blackson in free agency.
They brought in new players because the previous ones weren’t very good. Opponents shredded the Broncos for 137.1 rushing yards per game, ranking 30th in the NFL. It was a function of blending two schemes early in the season and too many missed tackles. Even when the Broncos won five straight games, amassing 16 takeaways, they allowed 134.6 yards on the ground and 5.1 yards per carry.
Improvement is not only necessary but demanded. Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph has simplified the scheme and deployed his new weapons with uncommon aggression.
Lost in the Nix headlines this preseason, the Broncos defensive line is quietly posting encouraging numbers in the agate type. In the first half of two preseason games, with starters and rotational players logging snaps, Denver has allowed 63 yards on 27 carries. That is 2.3 yards per clip. The Broncos ranked worst in the league at 5.0 last season. Shaving that number to 4.3 will increase their chance of delivering a winning record almost as much as Payton microwaving Nix’s development.
Yes, fake games provide misleading numbers. But what about Friday against the Packers starters in a scrimmage? Josh Jacobs, late of the Raiders, has run through the Broncos like late-night Taco Bell the past five seasons. He was largely ineffective, finding few lanes.
This doesn’t mean everything. But it means something. Roach has talked about how Franklin-Myers is finding his fits inside. Zach Allen continues showing explosive bursts without the annoying double teams, finishing with two quarterback hits and a sack vs. Green Bay on Sunday. And in practice, Jones looks much more like the player he was in 2022, his last season as an elite run stuffer.
“A lot of it is want-to. Or having the attitude ‘I get to.’ I get to take on double teams. It is not the easiest thing,” Jones said. “But you know what you are doing is helping the team.”
For Jones, this group is conjuring memories of his time with the San Francisco 49ers. Truthfully, the Broncos do not have that kind of talent. But they are taking on that persona, playing with an edge and attitude so often missing as this team became a homecoming opponent in the first six weeks of last season.
“Turnovers will come with attacking. If I am standing here right now and I just jump on you, you would drop your phone. ‘Fumble!’” said Jones, who is considered a mild-mannered man off the field. “Attack is everything to me. It was what I was in San Fran. That’s what got me paid. I think it will change a lot of people’s lives here.”
This remains a crossroads season for Jones. He plans to play roughly four more years, he said, but will they be in Denver? He is approaching his status differently from when he became a free agent in 2021.
“It was all I was thinking about then. ‘Oh, my contract year, I am out of here.’ That’s not what it’s about. You have to stick to the details and your teammates,” Jones said. “That’s what I plan on doing.”
The D-line is more sloppy than sexy. It certainly does not move the needle like Bo Nix. The Broncos’ improvement starts from the inside out. They are going to run the ball to ease the burden on Nix with play-action concepts and bootlegs. But the Broncos have become an afterthought in the AFC because of their inability to control the line of scrimmage.
Young and hungry is the catchy slogan for this team. Being mean and angry up front is equally important if the Broncos want to restore their glory.
“That’s on the top of the list,” Jones said. “They haven’t really won around here since 2015. We made our run last year, but we have to start like that. Then I think we can finish that way. It’s big for me to turn it around. It’s what I want.”
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