Brandon Jones Looking to Branch Out
Brandon Jones has made his mark in the NFL in his first two seasons more than anything by getting sacks from his safety position.
Jones, whose signature play as a rookie was a sack against the New York Jets, led all NFL defensive backs last season with five sacks, which also represented the highest total for a Dolphins DB since sacks became an official stat in 1982.
That's heady stuff for the 2020 third-round pick from the University of Texas, but Jones wants to be known as more than just a blitzing safety.
“My goal is to obviously kind of branch away from being labeled as this guy can only blitz, this guy can't cover, this guy can't do this," Jones said. "Just trying to be and find the best way for me that I could be a well rounded.”
BRANDON JONES' 2021 PERFORMANCE
Jones is entering his third season with the Dolphins after a sophomore season where he started nine more games than his rookie season and became one of Miami’s most consistent pass rush threats from the second level.
Along with his five sacks last season — the next-closest safety was Buffalo’s Jordan Poyer with three sacks — Jones ranked seventh among all defenders and first among safeties in blitzing snaps with 69.
Jones finished with a PFF pass-rush grade of 77.6, which was the eighth-best among safeties who took at least 635 snaps this past season.
Jones is an effective pass rusher because of how explosive he moves downhill. Dolphins defensive coordinator Josh Boyer likes to move players around pre-snap to confuse opposing offenses, and Jones’ straight-line speed allows him to get into the backfield from anywhere.
Blitzing and rushing the pass is clearly Jones’ calling card, but he’s trying to round out his game this offseason by improving his coverage ability.
“I'm trying to grow in every part of my game. I think I got a lot to work on,” Jones said. “Whether it's man coverage, blitzing. You know, being more of a vocal leader. I never think in the game like football you can never be too prepared and never do too much. So anyway, I can grow my game. I'm attacking a lot of it.”
JONES LOOKING TO IMPROVE IN COVERAGE
Jones wanting to improve his man coverage ability makes sense because his stats from last season don’t paint a favorable picture of Jones’ play in that area.
He allowed 27 receptions last season on 33 targets, a completion percentage allowed of 81.8, which paled in comparison to fellow safety Jevon Holland, who had a completion percentage allowed of 60.6 percent.
His 81.8 completion allowed percentage also was the highest for any safety and 19th overall in the NFL last season, according to Pro Football Reference.
Communication is a big factor for any safety's ability to cover effectively, and Jones believes he has an advantage in that area this season since Miami brought back all of their defensive starters.
“I think it has huge dividends,” Jones said. “We’ve built chemistry and connection with each other that kind of goes beyond the field, which is huge. We just all genuinely love playing with each other. It’s more than just football, and that goes a long way. We have fun. We stay communicating. We are always on the same page, and I think that chemistry at the end of the day goes a long way.”
Jones believes the defense’s communication was built on their shared experiences of adversity from last season.
"Good stuff happens, obviously, but adversity hits every game, every practice, and you get to know people," Jones said. "How they handle good situations and also how they handle bad situations being through the ups and downs kinda combines together.”
