Vance Joseph Gives Review of Broncos Rookie After Week 4 Debut

Albeit in a limited sample size, it seems Denver Broncos rookie defensive lineman Sai'vion Jones passed all his benchmarks in his debut on Monday night against the Cincinnati Bengals.

“He looked fine. Obviously, he didn’t play a lot of reps, but it was his first time getting on the field as a rookie, and it was good for him to play some," Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said Friday. "That should increase for him moving forward. He’s had great weeks of practice. That’s why we decided to put him up finally. He’s growing fast, so hopefully he gets better and better each week.”

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Jones at LSU — Oct 26, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; LSU Tigers defensive end Sai'vion Jones (35) defends in coverage during the third quarter against the Texas A&M Aggies. The Aggies defeated the Tigers 38-23; at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images. | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

The 101st overall pick of April's draft, Jones was a healthy scratch for the first three games before being activated in Week 4. He logged six defensive snaps as a rotational lineman and, although it went unrecorded on the stat sheet, was in on a nice pressure of Bengals quarterback Jake Browning.

They were small glimpses, but glimpses nonetheless of what made Jones a standout collegian at LSU and a high-round target of the Broncos.

“He kind of fits our mold of defensive line. The size—six-[feet] six-[inches], 280 [pounds]. We feel like he can continue to grow in that role," general manager George Paton said after drafting Jones. "He’ll play [defensive] end for us, but he has flexibility down the line of scrimmage. This guy is long. He’s strong [and] plays with really good leverage. Then he’s improving as a rusher. You could see that throughout the season, then you got to the Senior Bowl. We thought he had a really good week and played really well in the game. So he’s just going to keep getting better. [Defensive Line Coach] Jamar Cain has coached him, so again we had insight on him like we did some of the others. I think what sticks out with him is just how hard he plays. The motor—he goes 110 miles per hour every play, so he fits in with our group. He’ll have time to develop as well as he has good guys in front of him.”

Going forward, Jones should continue seeing a gradual uptick in playing time as part of his progression plan, firmly entrenched behind starting defensive ends John Franklin-Myers and Zach Allen, the latter of whom paces the NFL in quarterback hits among his positional group.

“I don’t think much has changed with Zach," Payton said Friday. "I mean, he’s just getting older as a player. He’s always been a great rusher. He’s gotten stronger over the years, but he’s always been a smart player. It’s opportunities. I think Zach playing with better outside rushers allows him to get more one-on-ones. When you’re the only rusher inside, you get all the slides of a double team. Now he’s playing with [OLB] Nik [Bonitto] and ‘Coop’ (OLB Jonathon Cooper) and ‘JFM’ (DL John Franklin-Myers). It’s fair across the board. All of our guys should improve with those kinds of numbers.”