Broncos Player Profile: Jonas Griffith #50

The Denver Broncos had linebacker issues during the 2021 season. While Baron Browning helped settle things down, so did another new addition.

Before the season started, the Broncos acquired Jonas Griffith from the San Francisco 49ers via trade, a move that flew relatively under the radar. It was propped up as a move to bolster special teams, but Griffith got to see the field on defense after multiple injuries.

Griffith put up some great tape, and Broncos fans became intrigued. He is still developing as a linebacker, but how much is he in play to be a starting linebacker this season? Let's dive into his resume to find the answer.

Biography

Griffith turned 25 years old in January. He was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. When it came time to go to college, he found himself playing at Indiana State.

College Career

Griffith played 44 college games and received six All-American honors. He was a tackling machine with 382, 200 of them solo, but he filled out the stat sheet.

On top of the excellent tackling numbers, Griffith had 28.5 tackles for a loss, 14 sacks, three interceptions, four fumbles forced, and three fumble recoveries. His production during his time in college was excellent.

Griffith put up back-to-back outstanding seasons in his final two seasons, 2018 and 2019. Pro Football Focus graded him with 81.4 and 75.6 overall those two seasons, and no aspect of his grading was below 60.0.

Griffith's lowest was his 2019 pass-rush grade with 60.6 when he played only 57 snaps as a pass rusher and picked up six total pressures with two sacks.

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Draft

Griffith didn't get a chance to show more during the draft process and went undrafted. He ended up signing with the Niners as a college free agent.

Professional Career

Griffith spent the 2020 offseason with the Niners but was waived before the season started. In October of that season, he was signed by the Indianapolis Colts to their practice squad but was waived less than a week later.

After that, Griffith returned to the Niners for the rest of the season on the practice squad. San Francisco signed him to a futures contract and kept him all offseason until he was traded to Denver at the end of August.

Griffith made the Broncos' 53-man roster and was a piece on special teams for the first three weeks of the season. Then he got hurt and spent a few weeks on injured reserve before being activated ahead of Week 8. When he was active again, he was a piece only on special teams from Week 8 to Week 13.

Griffith's performance was a good on special teams as he played on every third-phase unit. He only picked up two tackles, but he was disciplined in his coverage and did exceptionally well, and PFF gave him a 72.6 special teams grade.

In Week 14, Griffith finally took the field on defense and stayed on the field as a starter for the final four games. His play showed plenty of potential in all phases.

Griffith only played 255 snaps over those five games but picked up 30 total tackles, with 25 of them coming Weeks 15 through 17. Griffith also showed up well in coverage, despite allowing 16-of-20 targets to be caught.

How quickly Griffith closed on the ball carrier and made the tackle stood out. He was targeted under 10 yards where the ball carrier seemed to have space. However, he limited the receivers to 103 yards, or 6.4 yards per reception.

Griffith did exceptionally well against the run by clogging the gaps and sorting through the trash to get to the ball carrier. His instincts and reactions at times were a little late, but he is athletic enough to make up for it. Even with a new coaching staff, having experience under his belt should help develop his instincts.

2022 Outlook

The assumption is that Josey Jewell will start on this defense, and the other starting stack linebacker is supposedly up for grabs. It is between Alex Singleton and Griffith, with Browning moving to rush linebacker.

Singleton was a great special teams player for the Philadelphia Eagles who did alright on defense, but he is far more limited than Jewell or Griffith. Griffith is a great athlete who is still developing as a player.

Reading between the lines of what coaches have said and what has been reported, it wouldn't be shocking if Griffith is the main linebacker in Ejiro Evero's defense, not Jewell. Only time will tell, and the battle is still ongoing.

It would only increase his chances if Griffith could stand out in training camp and the preseason.

Follow Erick on Twitter @ErickTrickel.

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