The Denver Broncos are riding high into a Week 2 match-up with the Jacksonville Jaguars following their opening-week victory over the New York Giants.
While the Giants don't boast a top offensive line by any means, I was particularly impressed with the play of 2019 third-round pick Dre'Mont Jones. Jones is coming off of a strong offseason and that play seemed to carry over into the first game of the season.
In today's film room, I'll dive into why Jones is set to dominate this upcoming game against the Jaguars.
Strong Week 1
As I mentioned above, Jones had a great opening game. While he didn't finish with any sacks, he was credited with two hurries and three run stops by Pro Football Focus. He also drove Giants' right guard Will Hernandez deep in the pocket on a few occasions, which doesn't necessarily show up in the box score, but definitely helps the team.
Hernandez is a monstrous guard with some of the best power in the league. Jones was able to use his blend of speed and energy to still cause havoc in the Giants' backfield.
On this play, Jones is relentless with his rush throughout the rep. He knocks Hernandez off balance with a quick first punch, and then he finishes the rep by swiping away the guard's hands.
Jones comes just a split second away from getting his first sack of the year on this rush.
Jones was particularly strong in run defense too, which is somewhat shocking considering that he is billed as more of a pass rusher.
This play below was among my favorites from this past game. The Giants are running outside zone to Jones' side, so Hernandez attempts to wall him off in front of the play. Jones is simply too fast and strong for this block attempt, as he effortlessly pulls Hernandez out of the way and makes the tackle for a loss.
Favorable Match-Up
While Jones was able to find a lot of success in week one, his match-up in week two may be even more favorable. The Jaguars will be starting right guard A.J Cann in this game, a guard who allowed seven hurries in his opening week against the Texans last week.
Cann's performance in Week 1 was good enough to be given a grade of 9.2 in pass blocking by PFF. As a reminder, I would like to point out that these grades are out of 100, so Cann clearly scored in the "very bad" category.
Jones matches up really well with Cann and should find a ton of success in this game. Cann is more of a traditional guard, relying on power and physicality to overwhelm defenders. He is a poor athlete though, so a player like Jones should have no problem working around him from his 3-Tech position.
Even with Cann being more of a power player, he does struggle with bull rushes at times due to his poor anchor. This should bode well for Jones because he has the ability to win with a devastating bull rush/long arm if needed.
When looking at Cann's traits and abilities along with where he struggles, Jones should have no problem generating constant pressure on Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Added Fuel to the Fire
A little extra motivation for Jones in this game could be the fact that he is playing against his former Ohio State head coach in Urban Meyer.
When Jones was asked about Meyer on Thursday, he had some less than stellar things to say about the veteran coach (amid the rumors about the Jaguars undergoing turmoil already):
"Going from college to pros is always difficult no matter whether coaching or playing," Jones said. "Especially because a lot of his philosophies are college-based. And you can’t do that with 30-plus men or even 25-plus men who have been around the league and know what they’re doing now and [have] been established. You got to shake things up in how you coach.
While it may not be anything too important, it is interesting to see Jones call out his former coach like he did today. Whatever adds more fuel to the fire works for me.
Bottom Line
Jones is a talented defensive lineman who appears to be on the verge of putting it all together in 2021. Coming off of a strong Week 1 performance, he has a favorable match-up in week two against a guard that graded out as one of the worst in the league last week.
I typically don't make many predictions in my film room pieces, but I feel very confident about Jones in this next game. I'm going to call my shot and say that Jones finishes this week with two sacks and multiple pressures. Expect big things from the young defensive tackle in Jacksonville.
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