Jones anchors Denver’s defensive line and will play a key role in the defense’s success this season.
Dependable. Durable. Productive.
Those traits define D.J. Jones. The Denver Broncos defensive tackle isn’t flashy, but he doesn’t need to be. Jones does his job, and he does it incredibly well. That’s especially true for the 2024 season, when he anchored Denver’s defensive line and helped the defense become one of the best units in the NFL.
Fresh off a three-year extension in March, Jones and the Broncos aim to make the defense more dominant and this team a serious contender in 2025.
Player Profile
Age: 30 | Experience: Ninth year | College: Mississippi | Height: 6’0” | Weight: 305 pounds
D.J. Jones’s 2025 outlook with the Broncos
Entering his fourth year in Denver, Jones is a key cog along the defensive line. The battle-tested veteran has brought much-needed stability and leadership to the defense and locker room. Jones has appeared and started in 48 games and amassed 122 tackles, nine tackles for loss, and five sacks.
Last season, Jones started all 17 games for the Broncos, tallying 42 tackles (21 solo), one sack (3.5 yds.), three passes defended, and one fumble recovery with the team.
Jones is one of the major reasons Denver had one of the best defenses in the league. He’s also why this unit has the goal to be even better this season.
As Jones said recently to the local media after a training camp practice, this year’s team can be dangerous:
“With teams that I’ve been on that have been successful, later in the year, earlier in the year, you can feel it in OTAs, and I did. It’s fell over into now, so I feel like if we keep stacking and stay healthy, we’ll be a dangerous team.”
What aids in Jones’ confidence is how well he knows free agent acquisitions Dre Greenlaw and Talanoa Hufanga. Jones played with both for the San Francisco 49ers. In fact, the last time all three were on the field together, they were within a field goal of playing in the Super Bowl. The way Jones described them, Greenlaw and Hufanga are game-changers.
“We’ve already got some game-changers,” Jones told the Broncos website after the signings were announced. “We’ve got a Zach Allen, we’ve got a Pat Surtain II — but now we’re getting game-changers that are going to make everybody else become game-changers. What we’re getting is people that know ball, play ball at a high level, and all they want to do is ball. That’s it. They’ve got the right formula. They’ve got the right juice about themselves.
“I’m so excited. I’m more excited for them than I am for this new deal. I’m not lying. I can’t put it into words, so I’ll just let their actions show how I feel.”
Final thoughts
Jones has become one of the best defensive players on Denver’s roster. He’s also a leader who knows what it takes to make a deep run in the playoffs. For the Broncos to have the defense and season they expect in 2025, Jones will play a big role in that, pun intended.