Denver Broncos: 9 young players who must shine in 2021

Denver Broncos young players who must shine in 2021

7. Dre’Mont Jones, DL

Even dealing with an injury that caused him to miss a couple of games in the 2020 season, Dre’Mont Jones has lived up to the preseason hype that many saw coming from him.

Jones, a third-round pick in 2019 out of Ohio State, had a very solid 3.5 sacks in his rookie season for the Broncos as well as an interception, six quarterback hits, and three tackles for loss.

Playing in 49 percent of the defensive snaps in 2020, Jones has broken through for the defensive line and has 5.0 sacks, nine quarterback hits, six tackles for loss, and 12 total pressures, twice as many as he had his rookie season.

Jones is extremely athletic on the defensive interior and his quickness and ability to convert speed to power have given him an advantage this year playing in just under 50 percent of the defensive snaps.

Part of the reason for Jones playing that number of snaps is obviously due to his own injury, but also he’s gotten the chance to play even more this season than he might have otherwise with injuries to the entire starting defensive line.

How long until the Broncos make Jones a full-time starter? How much longer will he be a “part-time” player?

Jones has played 72 percent or more of the defensive snaps in five of the last six games. He’s poised in 2021 for a full-time role and a big-time breakthrough.