Mile High Report
Rookie defensive lineman Sai’vion Jones will be a welcomed addition to the Denver Broncos defensive line for the 2025 season.
Securing a prospect with future starting potential was a must for the Denver Broncos during the 2025 NFL Draft.
Their core four up front with D.J. Jones, John Franklin Myers, Malcolm Roach, and Zach Allen performed tremendously last season. Their play up front was a big reason the team embarked on a significant turnaround defensively in 2024. However, the last three mentioned are all in contract years. That’s why finding a developmental prospect to add into the mix was mission critical for the franchise.
Thankfully, the Broncos were able to address a long-term need this past April moving up to select Louisiana State University defensive lineman Sai’vion Jones at the end of the third round. Jamar Cain, the franchise’s defensive line coach, spent time with Jones during a short coaching stint down in the Bayou. Without question, he certainly had inside knowledge to offer on him throughout the draft process and had to be one of his biggest advocates inside the team’s draft war room.
The Broncos had six defensive linemen on their initial 53-man roster in 2024—the aforementioned—as well as Eyioma Uwazurike and Jordan Jackson. One of those guys will be the odd man out next season with Jones primed to earn one of those spots. Let’s take a deeper look at Jones and what we should reasonably expect from him during his rookie season in the Mile High City.
Age: 21 | Experience: Rookie | College: LSU | Height: 6’5” | Weight: 283 pounds
Arm Length: 33-1/2” | Hand Size: 10” | Bench Press: 19 reps | Broad Jump: 9’-11”
Vertical Jump: 33 inches | 10-Yard Split: 1.59 seconds | 40-yard dash: 4.75 seconds
I’ll preface this section by stating that we shouldn’t have sky-high expectations for Jones during his rookie campaign. The length-to-impact for defensive lineman coming out of college to the pros is usually pretty steep. Unless you’re a Top 64 selection drafted by a team in desperate need of immediate snap counts in the trenches, getting significant snaps early on rarely happens for these prospects.
A reasonable scenario for Jones’ initial gridiron campaign would be earning roughly 25-percent of the team’s defensive snaps throughout the course of the season. That would roughly be around Jackson’s snap share from last year. It might not seem like a lot, but it’s a pretty common threshold for a back-up defensive lineman.
In his collegiate career, Jones moved all over the Tigers’ defensive front. He has experience standing up as a rusher and with his hand in the dirt. With the Broncos, I expect him to be a down lineman that gets reps at end, but also a player that kicks inside for sub-packages in Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph’s scheme.
A two-year starter for the Tigers, Jones’ productivity as a pass rusher skyrocketed in his senior campaign. He...
