Broncos 2022 Training Camp Preview: Inside linebackers

As mentioned in the interior-defensive-line preview, stopping the run became a problem last year for the Broncos. Some of the issues were up front, but exacerbating those problems were injury issues on the next line of defense.

By the end of the Broncos’ Week 6 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, both of their intended starting inside linebackers were out for the season. Josey Jewell went down to a torn pectoral muscle in Week 2; Alexander Johnson succumbed to a similar injury four weeks later.

And after the Cleveland Browns gashed the Broncos on Thursday Night Football in Week 7, the Broncos shuffled the deck for help. They traded for Kenny Young, acquiring him from the Los Angeles Rams. They promoted third-round pick Baron Browning to the starting lineup.

Neither are in the mix now. Browning could still swing inside in a pinch. But he’s focused on his work as an edge rusher, returning to a spot he manned at Ohio State. Young was not re-signed in the offseason. Neither was Johnson, a three-year starter who tore his biceps in Week 6. Young is now with the Raiders, but Johnson, who turned 30 last December, remains a free agent.

What the Broncos have in 2022 is a mix of old and new, with the re-signed Josey Jewell representing the first half of that dyad. And given the potential emphasis on extensive use of dime packages, the number of overall snaps for the Broncos’ inside linebackers may be down from where it was last year.

But with Jewell back to full health and resuming his role as the run-stuffing core of Denver’s defense, the Broncos are banking on the fifth-year veteran picking up where he left off after a strong start to the 2021 season.

***
Starters: Josey Jewell, Jonas Griffith

General manager George Paton and his new coaching staff had a choice in March. They could bring back Jewell, Johnson, Young or some combination of the trio. All hit free agency at the start of the new league year. All started for the Broncos last year.

The team’s decision — and what it meant for Griffith, a late-season starter — spoke volumes.

First, Jewell. Although his timed speed has never turned heads, his coverage ability has improved over time. His pre-snap diagnosis is quick. He is rarely in the wrong spot. And his responsibilities include getting the entire front seven aligned.

“[Jewell] doesn’t have all the traits you want, but he just makes up for it with his mind,” Paton said in March.

So, even after missing 15 games, the Broncos still signed him to a two-year, $11-million deal that included $6 million in guarantees.

“I think he’s a special guy. He’s special in our locker room, special on the field,” Paton said two weeks after the Broncos re-signed him.

“I’ve said a number of times: He was the glue that kept our defense together,” Paton added. “He’s just a guy that we really wanted back, and really instinctive, tough, physical, makes plays.”

And his intellect and quick processor make him an ideal complement for a young linebacker still finding his way. Which is why the Broncos want to find out what Griffith can do with someone like Jewell next to him.

Then there’s Griffith. Denver acquired him for special-teams help at the 53-man roster deadline last year. But by the end of the season, he was a starter.

Griffith’s four starts last year were a mixed bag — as you’d expect for a first-time pro starter. He navigated through traffic well. He missed just one tackle in 41 opportunities during his four starts. But he also allowed 14 completions in 16 times he was targeted last season, according to the data compiled by SportRadar. Opposing quarterbacks compiled a 109.1 passer rating when throwing in his coverage area. He surrendered a touchdown in Week 18 against Kansas City.

As Griffith looked back at the film, he saw where he needed to improve: pre-snap diagnosis.

During offseason work, defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero saw the difference.

“He’s exactly right, and I think it’s a factor of reps and getting comfortable in the system,” Evero said during minicamp. He really, really works at it—on the field, off the field. He’s a student of the game and asks great questions. You see the improvement.”

Added Jewell during OTAs: “He’s come a long way, especially from last year. From the beginning of it when he was just playing special teams and then he came into a defensive role playing linebacker, and now [he’s] communicating with me out there with other guys.

“It really shows his football I.Q. really increasing.”

Jewell’s position appears secure. But that may not yet the case for Griffith.

“Every day is a competition. I don’t think I have anything solidified,” Griffith said last month. “Every day is an opportunity for me to show this coaching staff what I can do and to improve every day.”

***
Reserves: Alex Singleton, Justin Strnad, Barrington Wade, Kadofi Wright, Kana’i Mauga

At every position group, you need at least backup who can step in and be a trustworthy starter. Singleton fills that role after leading the Eagles in total tackles in each of the last two seasons. But those campaigns looked markedly different. In 2020, then-Eagles defensive coordinator brought more pressure, and Singleton blitzed more.

Per the data compiled by SportRadar.com, Singleton blitzed 36 times in 2020. He had 7 quarterback hits and 2 sacks. A year later, in Jonathan Gannon’s Cover-Two-intensive scheme, Singleton dropped into coverage more and rushed the passer fewer times.

Singleton blitzed barely half as often — 19 times. He had no sacks and 2 QB hits in 2021. Coverage was not Singleton’s strength, and last year he allowed 5 touchdowns on 74 times targeted. But diagnosing plays in the box is a strong suit, and he showed proficiency there during OTAs.

Strnad finds himself in a different spot than in each of the previous two years. As a fifth-round pick in 2020, he headed into training camp as a potential secret weapon who could be used as a sub-package coverage linebacker. That meshed well with the skills he showed at Wake Forest, where he flourished when dropping back into coverage. But a biceps injury ended his 2019 senior season early. Then, any hope of contributing as a rookie evaporated when he fractured his wrist during training camp two years ago.

After Jewell’s injury last year, Strnad got his shot. He stepped in for Jewell at Jacksonville in Week 2, then started five consecutive games, from Week 3 through Week 7. Through Week 5, he was as advertised in coverage: per the data from SportRadar.com, he allowed a 58.9 passer rating on 14 times targeted. But he struggled against the run.

When Las Vegas’ Derek Carr and Cleveland’s Case Keenum gashed Strnad for 5 completions and 99 yards on 6 times targeted in a five-day span, Strnad’s spot was no longer tenable, as he was struggling in coverage and in the box. He didn’t start again. In the Broncos’ final nine games, Strnad played just 12 defensive snaps.

During OTAs, Strnad worked on the second team. But Singleton was the first reserve up to the No. 1 defense when Evero needed reinforcements. In his third camp and with the secondary and edge rushers taking on more of the work that would go to off-ball linebackers, Strnad finds himself at a career fork-in-the-road moment. If he can find his footing in Evero’s scheme, he has a chance, because coverage linebackers remain in demand. But his work in space must look more like his first three starts last year than his final two.

Wade has the advantage of spending last season on the Broncos’ practice squad, with four call-ups to the game-day active roster. All 52 of his snaps came on special teams, and as it is for defensive reserves, special-teams work will need to be his ticket if he is to stick on the roster.

Mauga and Wright could be battling for a single practice-squad spot. Wright, a product of the University at Buffalo, excels at quick diagnosis. He showed that skill during OTAs. But at a listed weight of 230 pounds, he could need to add some bulk if he is to hold up in heavy traffic working in the box. The 245-pound Mauga is a playmaker; he notched 16.5 tackles for loss at USC. For both of them, their work on Dwayne Stukes’ special-teams units will be crucial.

***
Summary:

There are some “ifs” that remain.

• IF … Jewell can return to the form that had him flashing as perhaps the defense’s most effective contributor in the first two weeks of 2021 …
• IF … Griffith can make his work in the meeting rooms translate to better work in coverage …
• IF … Singleton can effectively back up both while bringing the special-teams leadership the Broncos want from him …

… then the Broncos have a unit that might not be as important as their edges or cornerbacks, but could be one of their most effective corps.

Once again, the Broncos didn’t pick an inside linebacker early in the draft. But the team’s recent history has shown that they don’t have to. They’ve found capable players from the third day of the draft (Jewell, Danny Trevathan), the waiver wire (Brandon Marshall), the undrafted pool (Johnson) and by raiding another team’s practice squad (Todd Davis).

The Broncos were caught short last year. But if Singleton can hold up his end of the bargain — and if Strnad can recapture the promise he showed in coverage early last year — they’re covered if they lose either Jewell or Griffith.

***