Denver Broncos: Has Josey Jewell already hit his ceiling?

Denver Broncos linebacker Josey Jewell will be entering his third season with the team, but what will his role be going forward?

The Broncos have been looking for help at the inside linebacker position for quite some time and that was the thought behind using a fourth-round choice on Josey Jewell out of Iowa in 2018. Jewell had a solid college career, including being named the Big 10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2017.

Jewell had a decent rookie season, collecting 58 tackles and three pass deflections while seeing action on 42.6 percent of the team’s defensive snaps. But he saw his numbers take a drastic decrease in year two as he had just 38 tackles and was on the field for just 20.3 percent of the defensive snaps, according to Pro Football Reference.

The main reason for that was the emergence of Alexander Johnson, who appears to be a much more well-rounded player than Jewell and has likely taken his job on a permanent basis.

The Broncos also have Todd Davis, who will get the nod as the team’s other starter for his experience and his ability as a sure tackler.

So what role will Jewell have? Most likely the same one he had last year, where he comes in to spell one of those guys and looks to contribute on special teams. Davis isn’t exactly a strong starter, but Jewell most likely isn’t going to supplant him in the lineup, at least not based on what he has shown thus far.

Many fans would like to see the Broncos select an inside linebacker early in the draft. This mock draft laid out one scenario in which the team could trade down and land Oklahoma’s Kenneth Murray in the first round.

All of this begs the question, has Jewell hit his ceiling as a player?

With a fourth-round pick, you would hope to get more than the Broncos have gotten out of Jewell thus far. It’s too soon to label him as a total bust, but he is certainly trending in the wrong direction.

Jewell is passable on early downs, but teams will exploit him if he is on the field on passing downs. The Broncos know that and will continue to use him on about 20-25 percent of the defensive snaps as a result.

When the Broncos drafted Jewell two years ago, it seemed like they might have found great value on day three of the selection process. Instead, Jewell seems bound to get lost in the shuffle much sooner than later.