The Denver Broncos made a big free-agent move by adding safety Talanoa Hufanga back in March, a year after bringing in Brandon Jones. In two years, the Broncos have completely revamped their safety room, and after a Pro Bowl-alternate season, Jones is being appreciated around the league.
Pro Football Focus' Jonathon Macri pinpointed the most underrated player on each team and named Jones for the Broncos. Jones had an excellent first year with the Broncos, so it isn’t surprising to hear him mentioned as a bit of a sleeper. He still doesn’t quite get the recognition he should.
“2024 was a massive season for Jones, who signed a three-year free-agent contract with the Broncos this past offseason, despite not having played more than 644 defensive snaps in a year while dealing with several injuries," Macri wrote. "Jones not only proved the Broncos right in signing him, but he also exceeded expectations by finishing as one of the five highest-graded safeties overall (84.8) and in coverage (89.8) in 2024. He played a career-high 1,042 defensive snaps — almost double his previous career high — and looked more comfortable than he ever has in Vance Joseph’s defense, putting him in the conversation as one of the league’s best heading into 2025."
Jones was able to play at the level he did despite garnering almost twice as many snaps as his career high entering 2024. What makes it even better is that throughout his career, he struggled when he got more snaps, leading to concerns over his ability to be a full-time starter on defense. He looked comfortable in Joseph’s defense and found a home.
As we enter the 2025 season, the concern is that the Broncos may be shaking things up with Jones with the Hufanga signing. Jones thrived in 2024 as a high safety. He was actually among the top players when working as a high safety.
The concern is that Jones played that role on a limited basis due to the Broncos' issues with P.J. Locke. But with Hufanga, Jones as the single-high safety will almost be a full-time role. The question is, can Jones handle it full-time?
Jones' speed and range are a bit questionable, but he has shown the awareness to compensate for it. When discussing high safety, especially in the Cover 3 system that Joseph primarily uses, you need that range and speed to cover ground.
Hufanga can do some two-high stuff, but he isn’t built for single-high. That raises another concern with Jones.
With Locke, there was some uncertainty about where he would line up, which threw opposing quarterbacks off at times, but with Hufanga, it's likely to be much more straightforward. Will that lack of confusion hurt the defense overall, or will Joseph, Jones, and Hufanga have an answer for confounding opponents pre-snap?
Those concerns can be put to rest, for the most part, because the Broncos have a cheat code: Patrick Surtain II. When you have a player like Surtain, who can erase one side of the field, what you ask of the single-high safety is much less. So, any speed and range concerns surrounding Jones aren't nearly as pressing.
While Hufanga doesn’t have the skill set to be a single-high safety, he can be a two-high safety. With Surtain, the single-high safety essentially plays a two-high safety role. The Broncos have shown a willingness to let Surtain work his side of the field and shade the safeties to help the opposite corner.
It all adds up to help make Jones an underrated player, but if he weren't in a secondary with Surtain, it might be a different story. Jones can still capitalize on the elite player that Surtain is, but he might not be able to continue flying so low beneath the radar.
