Film Room: Breaking Down DL Dre'Mont Jones' Emergence as a Star
The Denver Broncos' pass rush was far from efficient in 2021, ranking outside the top-15 in sacks and pressure percentage. The team actually finished with the worst Pass Rush Win Rate (according to ESPN) with a win rate of just 31%.
While this Broncos' pass rush was downright awful at times, third-year defensive tackle Dre'Mont Jones emerged as a star player on the interior. He finished the year with 28 hurries, seven quarterback hits, and five sacks from the inside. His pass-rush win percentage of 14.8 ranked as ninth among all defensive tackles.
With Jones' ascension into stardom, I decided to jump into the film and show you all just how dominant this young pass rusher is.
Nasty Spin-Counter
One of the most important aspects of rushing the passer that young players have to learn is how to develop counters. It is great to be able to win with the first move, but NFL offensive linemen are simply too good to consistently win with the same plan of attack.
Pass rushers have to develop counters for those times when offensive linemen stifle the first move. Jones has grown tremendously in this area. This spin move against Washington Football Team is just one of many examples.
Jones starts by trying to win on the inside by shooting the 'A' gap with speed. He attempts a swipe but realizes that he is going to have to get back to the 'B' gap to win his rush. He quickly counters by spinning to the outside and then turns the corner for the sack.
The ankle flexibility and quickness on the spin is truly rare for a defensive tackle. This is simply insane athleticism to net the sack on the rush.
Long Arm Dominance
Jones has so many pass rush moves in his toolbox that he is able to mix up how he attacks offensive linemen on each play. He will come with speed on one play and then a powerful bull rush on the next.
This rush against the Detroit Lions absolutely catches the center off guard with power. Jones slants down the line from his 3-technique position and engages with the center on the inside.
The center is clearly expecting/setting for him to use speed on his rush, but Jones mixes it up. He quickly transitions to the long arm and is able to drive the ailing center into the backfield. Jones then works around the wimpy block and gets a sack on the play.
Winning with Speed
Just because the clip above showed Jones winning with power, that doesn't mean that it is his go-to. He is an explosive, bendy interior pass rusher that threatens offensive linemen with his elite athleticism.
Jones loves to quickly win with his hands and then turn the corner on his way to the quarterback. This play is a good example against a very talented Philadelphia Eagles offensive line.
Jones wins the hand fighting match with the left guard early in the play and then corners to work up the field. He over-pursues the quarterback slightly, but does an excellent job of locating the ball in the quarterback's hand to knock it out for the fumble.
Working off the Edge?
With how athletically impressive Jones is on the interior, it is no wonder that he had some success on his limited rushes from the edge. He clearly doesn't have the bend of a player like Von Miller, but he turns the corner extremely well for a player of his size.
This rush against the Dallas Cowboys was pretty eye-opening for me. He quickly wins with his hands against the left tackle and then turns the corner for the quarterback hit on the play.
The way that he dips under the block and bends around the edge is absolutely insane for a 281-pound defensive tackle. This rush may not have been a sack, but it may be my favorite pass rush clip of his this year.
ELITE on Stunts
The last area I want to highlight is just how good Jones is on interior stunts and twists. His explosiveness and twitch allow him to be elite on these calls, whether he is the under or the over man on the call.
As the under-man, he can quickly make first contact before the unsuspecting lineman can react. As the over-man, his bend allows him to quickly turn the corner to break through the line for pressure/sacks.
These are just a few of my favorite clips of his rushing the passer on stunts. The Broncos' new defensive coordinator (whoever that ends up being) will absolutely love deploying Jones on these types of rushes.
Bottom Line
Jones is a really good pass rusher. He has everything that is needed to be a dominant player on the interior, from being a top-tier athlete to having a varied toolbox to work from.
Jones can certainly stand to improve in some areas if he wants to take the next step into superstardom, but the Broncos have a truly outstanding player on their hands. If the team can just add more consistent edge rushers, then it may be able to improve from the league's worst pass-rush win rate going into 2022.
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