Denver has been dealing with injuries all year on the defensive side of the ball. Patrick Surtain II had just recently come back from a pectoral injury a few weeks ago, but in Week 15 against the Green Bay Packers, Brandon Jones went down with a pec injury and was quickly placed on injured reserve.
Jones has been with the Broncos since the 2024 NFL Season and has honestly been underrated during his entire tenure with the team. Denver signed Talanoa Hufanga this past offseason, and Hufanga's great season has honestly made Jones fly under the radar.
In 14 games for the Broncos this year, Brandon Jones will have finished with one interception, seven passes defended, one fumble recovery, a half-sack, 78 total tackles, and a 67.1 passer rating allowed in coverage. PJ Locke filled in for Jones in Week 16, and the results speak for themselves...
PJ Locke was a massive liability for the Denver Broncos in Week 16
Here is just one example of a play where PJ Locke was clearly out of place, and this is probably something that does not happen with Brandon Jones in the lineup:
These are kinds of defensive miscommunications #Broncos will have to digest on tape.
— Luca Evans (@bylucaevans) December 22, 2025
Q3 -- Alex Singleton (49) + Ja'Quan McMillian (29) can see read's coming for Jags' Parker Washington. Clearly Riley Moss/P.J. Locke get mixed up on back-end. Singleton barks at them after play. pic.twitter.com/RKmCJjoXKS
PJ Locke was also called for an unnecessary roughness penalty on Jaguars' QB Trevor Lawrence, and he was the nearest defender on multiple chunk plays by the Jags' offense, including a touchdown pass in which is coverage honestly looked like he didn't try.
Denver should have signed Justin Simmons the second Brandon Jones went down, but for whatever reason, they seem to like 'their guys' in the room, which is simply not OK in certain instances like this. Sometimes a team needs to go out and address a position that is suffering a bit, and without Jones in the lineup, the safety room is now a weakness.
Talanoa Hufanga is an exceptional player, but there is still someone opposite of him that has to do his job, and it's clear that PJ Locke is simply incapable of doing it. Denver has too quick a turnaround to make a major change, but perhaps after the team's Christmas game against the Kansas City Chiefs, they can use that mini-bye to figure out a more realistic play.
Brandon Jones is on IR and will have to miss at least one playoff game, so that would be either the Wild Card or Divisional Round depending on what seed the Denver Broncos finish with. It's abundantly clear that the defense needs him back.