John Elway’s tenure as Denver Broncos GM was a tale of two halves.
Cliche, yes, but in the team’s first five seasons, there were two Super Bowl appearances, an SB win, and no losing seasons. Then, the final four seasons totaled zero winning seasons. Make that five, if you include the 2021 season when Elway basically fired himself in the final year of his contract.
After the 2017 season, Elway begun turning it around in the draft. In 2018, he stumbled onto Bradley Chubb, then secured Courtland Sutton in the second round, and scooped up Phillip Lindsay as an undrafted free agent. The following year, he hit on a third-round prospect as well: Dre’Mont Jones.
Jones’ ascension has been fun to watch. He’s gotten better every season. Entering a contract year, Jones isn’t thinking about the “contract stuff,” though.
“You never know when you’re going to get it,” Jones said last weee. “Like if you always anticipate the big contract, eventually, you might not get what you want. Everyone wants the big payout, break the bank like Denzel did — especially since we came in together, and he was my roommate the late years of college. You just have to focus on football.”
Jones presumably has room to grow with a departed Shelby Harris. Thus far, the DE’s averaged just over five sacks, two passes defended, just over six tackles for loss, and just over nine QB hits per season his first three years in the league. With a productive season in 2022, he can secure a long-term contract — either from the Broncos or someone else — in 2023.
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