4 underrated, important role players on Denver Broncos in 2023

Denver Broncos underrated, important role players in 2023

2. Jonas Griffith, LB

The 2022 season was supposed to be a breakout year for Jonas Griffith, but just like a number of his teammates on the Denver Broncos last year, injuries really prevented us from seeing the fullness of what this young player can bring to the table.

He only played in nine games, but still managed to match his tackle production from 2021 when he played in 13 games. Griffith racked up 46 total tackles, 3 QB hits, an interception, and 5 QB pressures while playing 336 defensive snaps and 141 special teams snaps.

It feels like he played way less than that because of how often Josey Jewell and Alex Singleton were on the field making plays, but even in an injury-affected season, Griffith found ways to make his presence felt. The Broncos were lucky enough to have him as an exclusive rights free agent in 2023, which basically meant that they got to re-sign him for pennies on the dollar and other teams couldn't negotiate with him.

Griffith is an incredible athlete at the linebacker position, and frankly, his presence on the roster made the Drew Sanders pick in April all the more surprising. I feel like Griffith has the ideal makeup of an every-down linebacker in today's NFL, with the speed and size to attack the line of scrimmage in any situation.

Going forward, I don't know what his role is going to be defensively, but I think Griffith's best days are ahead of him and I think he's only just begun to scratch the surface of what he can contribute every week on special teams. Hopefully, he gets the chance to play in all 17 games this season, and we get to see that breakout campaign one way or the other.