Finding Broncos: Two Corners to Bolster Depth

While the Denver Broncos have Patrick Surtain II, a promising Damarri Mathis, and a veteran nickel standout in K'Waun Williams, they still need to bolster their depth. It was a promising rookie year from Mathis, but he needs competition for the job opposite Surtain. By giving him that competition, they are also improving their depth, and this is a strong corner class to improve the position. 

Jaylon Jones | CB | Texas A&M

Pros

• Went from being targeted 60 times in 2021 to 19 times in 2022. 
• He has great height and length to attack the catch point. 
• Fights through the body of the receiver. 
• Willing and physical run supporter. 
• Does well tracking the ball in coverage. 
• Good awareness and sense in zone coverage. 
• He is young and still developing and will be 21 for his whole rookie season as he turns 21 a little before the draft. 
• Has good ball skills, but production is a little lackluster. 
• Has faced off against some tough matchups in college. 
• Can play reactionary with how quick he is to trigger. 
• Excellent experience, with three years as a starter playing nearly 2,000 snaps on defense. 
• Good athlete who posed a relative athletic score of 8.66. 

Cons

• He struggles to stick with his man in man-coverage. 
• Likely limited to zone-heavy schemes. 
• Doesn't play with the desired level of confidence, it feels like. 
• Doesn't sustain leverage with his coverage. 
• Needs to anticipate more in zone than react. 
• Doesn't use or trust his technique consistently. 
• Doesn't have a great change of direction tempo. 
• Not fluid or smooth with his movement. 
• Reactionary play style leads to instant separation. 
• Quick to open his hips on double moves. 
• He had lackluster ball production in his career, especially in 2022, with only one pass broken up. 
• Nine penalties over the last two years. 
• Might be better suited to be a safety. 

Overview

Jones is an experienced corner who will only be 21 years old as a rookie. There are a lot of natural traits to work with while still developing the football side of the prospect. Teams will be fine with taking on that work due to how young he is and how much room there is to grow. 

Fit with Broncos

Jaylon Jones is still extremely young and quite moldable as a player. Working alongside Surtain could help his technique in multiple facets of being an NFL corner. He also could work quite well as a versatile defensive back in Vance Joseph's scheme. While he isn't an ideal fit to start as a rookie, he can still push Mathis and provide a fourth option with a ton of upside.