Josey Jewell

[Don Wassall]

I'll be very surprised if Josey Jewell doesn't excel in the NFL. He reminds me a lot of Chris Borland, both beasts in the Big Ten but because they didn't run a 40 as fast as linebackers with far less productivity, both were downplayed and drafted later than they should have been, Borland in the third round and Jewell in the fourth round.

Everything I've read about Jewell indicates that he's going to be a tackling machine for the Broncos, just as Borland was for the 49ers before he retired after just one season, and many other White LBs who didn't run sparkling 40 times. Jewell was a treat to watch when he played for Iowa, and will be again for the Broncos. He may not start as a rookie, but the starter ahead of him is the quite mediocre Todd Davis, so it's only a matter of time.

Some have wondered if Josey will be a three down backer when he does start, but according to this article that should be a no-brainer. Gee, how does a linebacker with a 4.80 40 time excel in pass coverage? Maybe, just maybe, diagnosing plays quickly, intelligence, feel for the game, and other factors trump linebackers who run 4.6s and 4.7s but lack those skills:

Denver Broncos: Josey Jewell is exceptional in coverage

https://predominantlyorange.com/2018/07/21/denver-broncos-josey-jewell-exceptional-coverage/

 

[Don Wassall]

Iowa highlights:

 

[Don Wassall]

You know a White player is good when even Pro Football Focus recognizes it. Jewell played about half the defensive snaps in Week 3, mainly because Brandon Marshall was on the injured report all week but ended up playing but not his usual amount. It's just a matter of time before Jewell's racial apprenticeship is shortened to the point where he becomes a starter:

Josey Jewell makes Pro Football Focus' Team of the Week

Pro Football Focus recognizes the talent that is Josey Jewell.

The analytics website included the Denver Broncos' rookie linebacker on its Team of the Week for Week 3. Jewell shined, earning a stellar 91.0 overall grade, despite his team's sloppy loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

"Jewell had an impressive day for the Broncos, proving himself to be more than solid against the run," PFF analyst Gordon McGuinness wrote. "It was in coverage where he really stood out though, with his impressive day highlighted by a pass breakup while covering tight end Mark Andrews out of the backfield."

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Jewell finished with eight total tackles, four solo stops, a tackle for loss and pass deflection in Denver's 27-14 defeat. He was on the field for 38 defensive snaps, receiving his first career start at inside 'backer over a gimpy Brandon Marshall, who logged 33 snaps. That Jewell got more playing time was by design, and wholly expected.

“That was, because we watched him practice until walk through on Saturday," head coach Vance Joseph said after the game. "So, yes, playing Josey in nickel and base, and playing Marshall [Brandon Marshall] in dime. That was the plan.”

The Broncos have gone away from their dime unit as the predominant sub-package, which means instead of rolling with three safeties, the off-ball linebackers are staying on the field as a means to keep all three of Marshall, Jewell and Todd Davis fresh.

https://247sports.com/nfl/denver-br...ro-Football-Focus-Team-of-the-Week-122519797/

“We’re playing more nickel now, so those guys are playing more snaps,” Joseph explained last week. “Last year, we played more dime defense, so our backers didn’t play as much. Now, we would like to have a three-man rotation between Todd, B-Marsh and Josey. That way they’re playing probably 40-45 snaps and not 60 snaps.”

A fourth-round pick out of Iowa, Jewell is living up to billing as a heady defender who's typically in the right place at the right time. He's the team's best ILB in pass coverage -- a longstanding bugaboo of Marshall and Davis -- and thus earned the trust of his coaches.

“He’s a really good football player," defensive coordinator Joe Woods said last week. "Very high football IQ—you could tell from the first time he stepped on the field. We have quality depth with some of our young players, so we would like it to be more of a rotation with our linebackers. We’re playing more nickel on first and second down—more than we did last year. Moving forward, we’re going to continue to try to have a little rotation with the backers.”

Jewell characterized his performance as executing "fundamental football."

"When it comes down to it, you’ve got to beat your man. Man or zone coverage, you’ve got to be technically sound," he said.

https://247sports.com/nfl/denver-br...ro-Football-Focus-Team-of-the-Week-122519797/

 

[Bucky]

Big fan of Josey at Iowa. Hopefully we are seeing a Star Emerge for The Broncos! 1st pale face they've had at MLB in Denver since Romanowski?!

 

[Don Wassall]

Denver Broncos: Vic Fangio heaps praise on Josey Jewell

The decision by the Denver Broncos to release veteran linebacker Todd Davis and insert Josey Jewell into the starting lineup on a permanent basis was understandably met with skepticism by the fan base.

After playing mainly as a backup in his rookie season, Jewell came into the 2019 season as the starter alongside Davis for the Broncos but when he was injured early in the year, he was replaced permanently by Alexander Johnson. When Davis went down with a training camp injury for the second year in a row in 2020, it was Jewell this time who seized the day — and the starting inside linebacker job next to Johnson. The Broncos had hoped rookie Justin Strnad could play a role on passing downs for the Broncos in 2020, but he suffered a wrist injury in training camp as well. The team then signed Mark Barron in he could play a role, but that also didn’t happen. Barron suffered a hamstring injury and has been dealing with it since camp.

Instead of having Jewell split time with someone else, he’s pretty much been playing full time all of 2020. Jewell has played 93 percent of the Broncos’ defensive snaps this season, and is on pace to shatter his career-high of 58 tackles (48 already in seven games) and has already set career marks with two sacks and three quarterback hits. Jewell’s strong play against the run for the majority of this year has also been notable, and he had one of the best hits of the NFL season on the King, Derrick Henry.

Head coach Vic Fangio was asked recently about Jewell’s strong play this season and took the opportunity to heap praise on a player who, frankly, is one of the most improved players on the entire roster.

“Josey has been playing very well all season. I’ve been very, very pleased by his play. He really quarterbacks the defense out there for us when he’s out there. He’s got the coach to player communication and he’s the guy who leads it for us. He’s playing his position for us very well. I think he’s gotten comfortable in the system—and he’s an instinctive player anyway—but it’s gotten to the point now because he’s gotten a lot of playing time that it’s really showing. I’ve been very, very pleased with his play.”
Head coach Vic Fangio (via Broncos PR)

For Broncos fans, there could not be a more exciting review of Jewell’s play through nearly half a season. Fangio is not afraid to call things the way they are if they aren’t good, and he’s not afraid to call out players if they need to play better.

Very rarely does he take the time to put this much praise on a player, which speaks volumes to how well the former fourth-round pick out of Iowa has taken to the Fangio defense.

Has Jewell been flawless? No, but no one really has on Denver’s roster. He has certainly exceeded the expectations of most of the Broncos’ fan base, and has played his way perhaps keeping inside linebacker off the Broncos’ top three agenda items in the 2021 offseason.

https://predominantlyorange.com/2020/11/03/denver-broncos-vic-fangio-josey-jewell/

 

[Shadowlight]

What strikes me about the Jewell story is how many injuries it took for him to comfortably get the starting nod. This idea of puting in the white guy as a last resort really bugs the crap out of me. Jewell like Cole Holcomb has displayed star qualities yet they have had to inchworm their way to get to where they are.

How about recognizing a top tier white talent and slotting them into the lineup without all the outside influences and hesitations up the you know what. Holcomb is still trying to prove himself but it is amazing to me what it takes for so many worthy white defenders to get into a lineup.

 

[Don Wassall]

Supposedly "too slow," Jewell now has 10 tackles in three straight games. He's been excelling in both run support and pass defense and should be an established starter now for years to come, emphasis on the word "should."

 

[Don Wassall]

"Lacks athleticism" seems to be an official part of Josey Jewell's name as it is ritually mentioned over and over in almost every single media article about him. Yet while the hive mind media and the DWF sheep continue to howl for him to be replaced, his starting job should be secure again this season, as he's very productive -- isn't that the whole idea? -- and PFF even with its anti-White bias continues to rate him highly, in fact as the 19th best linebacker in the league. Considering that there are over 100 starting linebackers, Jewell is in the upper fifth at his position. Article snippet:

Sam Monson of ProFootballFocus.com recently ranked the top 32 linebackers in the NFL and Denver Broncos defender Alexander Johnson made the list at No. 10, making him the highest-ranked linebacker in the AFC West.

Denver’s other starting inside linebacker, Josey Jewell, is ranked No. 19. “He has been an incredibly productive player at the NFL level, similar to what he did in college,” Monson wrote on PFF’s website. “Jewell was targeted 70 times this past season and allowed only 9.6 yards per completion.”

Johnson and Jewell are expected to start for the Broncos again this season, but there will be competition this summer from players including
Baron Browning and Justin Strnad. https://broncoswire.usatoday.com/20...rs-in-the-nfl-2021-alexander-johnson-broncos/

 

[Don Wassall]

Good news for one of my favorite overachievers on defense:

Broncos re-signed LB Josey Jewell to a two-year, $11 million contract.
Jewell was lost to a torn pectoral in Week 2 last season, but was a 16-game starter who finished with 113 tackles in 2020. He was adequate in 2020 and could be used next to Baron Browning on inside downs in 2022, as both Kenny Young and Alexander Johnson are also still free agents. He may also just be a useful depth piece if the Broncos add more, but that dollar amount sure seems like they're viewing him as a starter and George Paton talked him up as a very important retain for the Broncos at the combine.

 

[Bucky]

Some more good news and with the White Man discount for Denver.

 

[Don Wassall]

This is a great refutation of the holy 40 time along with lots of praise for Josey Jewell by Karl Mecklenburg, who was an outstanding linebacker in his day:

Broncos Ring-of-Famer Karl Mecklenburg isn't Worried About LB Josey Jewell's 40 Time

by Thomas Hall

Denver Broncos Ring-of-Fame linebacker Karl Mecklenburg stopped by the Legends of Mile High podcast recently. Mecklenburg talked about Denver's top linebacker this year, Josey Jewell.

There are many opinions on Jewell’s ability to play inside linebacker at a high level, but when Mecklenburg speaks on the subject, people should take notice. He is a four-time All-Pro, a six-time Pro Bowler, and Hall-of-Fame-caliber former linebacker who played all front seven positions, with most of his career manning the middle at inside linebacker.

Suffice to say, Mecklenburg likes Jewell’s game.

"When evaluating an inside linebacker, the 40-yard dash time is not on top of the list." Mecklenburg said, “If I had to run 40 yards on the field, we were in trouble. That is not a realistic measure of somebody’s quickness on the field.”

Lateral movement is much more important when judging how a player will perform at inside linebacker if using athletic tests for evaluation. Jewell had a blistering time in both 3-cone drill and the 20-yard shuttle at the Combine at 6.80 seconds and 4.27 seconds, respectively. That lateral movement shows up on tape, and it makes up for his less than stellar 40 time (4.82s).

The other more important trait of a good inside linebacker is being able to read and react. If Mecklenburg could boil his success in the NFL down to one word, it would be “decisiveness.”

That decisiveness is one of the reasons he had a Hall-of-Fame-caliber career. Decisiveness and read and react are other words for what many evaluators refer to as 'instincts.'

Jewell has instincts in spades. He takes that first step before others as a result, putting him in position to make a play.

Mecklenburg also talked about the most important role for an inside linebacker, which is being able to make all the calls for the defense.

“First of all, an inside linebacker has got to be smart enough to control the defense. That is a huge piece of his job," Mecklenburg told me. "My role was to make sure the front seven were in the right place at the right time. When the offense adjusted, all the defensive linemen are staring at the ball or the nose of the person lined up across from of them, that is all they see, so if anything changes… it is the inside linebacker’s job to get everyone lined up right. I think that is something Josey Jewell is really good at. I watched him—his growth from his first year to his second year was tremendous. He is a guy that you can trust to get everyone lined up right, and then big plays don’t happen.”

Mecklenburg added that if the defense is set up correctly, “you get the outside linebacker doing the right thing and you get the pressure, then there is an interception, and it doesn’t look like Josey Jewell had anything to do with it, but really he got everyone shifted around and lined up right and that is why it happened.”

Jewell is a big part of the Broncos' defense, and he will be an important piece manning the middle, especially since the player who will be lined up next to him is still in question. He can bring leadership to the defense.

Mecklenburg believes the Broncos' front seven unit will be stronger than it has been in the past few seasons and that he is “expecting Josey Jewell to be the center of it.”

That's a big vote of confidence from a Broncos Ring-of-Fame player who knows what it takes to be elite at the inside linebacker position.

https://www.si.com/nfl/broncos/news/karl-mecklenburg-talks-josey-jewell-outlook-2022

 

[SneakyQuick]

The quotes by mecklenburg seems to reinforce the idea that the criteria used to evaluate players has little to nothing to do with reality.

why the heck then don’t people listen to that ?

only thing that makes sense to me is that they can get away it, so why not.

Still seems like it all boils own to staying away in droves.

 

[chris371]

A 40 yard time of 4.8 isnt that bad. I think Larry Fitzgerald ran a 4.63. So hes 0.2 slower than a pro bowl Receiver.

Big Deal....

 

[Don Wassall]

Here's a rare article recognizing how valuable and good Josey Jewell is. He's one of the most disrespected linebackers in the league, exceeded in that department perhaps only by his equally great running mate Alex Singleton. Most of the articles I've been reading on Jewell of late want to see him leave the team in free agency after the '23 season, or even be cut in training camp. The depth of DWF ignorance knows no bounds. The drafting of Drew Sanders complicates things a bit, but hopefully the Bronocs will figure a way to best use all three, perhaps using Sanders outside until either Jewell or Singleton moves on.

Broncos Should Prioritize Extension For LB Josey Jewell

The Denver Broncos are under new management, again, heading into the 2023 season. After the Nathaniel Hackett era lasted for one season, Sean Payton was acquired via trade from the New Orleans Saints to man the sidelines.

www.yardbarker.com

 

[Don Wassall]

Jewell is an unrestricted free agent and it looks like the Broncos will let him test the market. He and Drue Tranquill (again) should let us know if very solid and productive White linebackers of unquestioned starting ability will get screwed like Tranquill was last offseason. White LBs have been excelling almost as much as White tight ends in recent seasons when getting opportunities yet it looks like the league is still interested in keeping their numbers as small as possible, as shown by just 4 of them (out of 30) being invited to this year's Combine.

 

[NikoDuke]

It's a joke but, not surprising that Broncos don't plan on signing Jewell. Rumor is that Broncos have targeted Locke and Cushenberry as their key re signings.. I'd be interested to see if Buffalo takes any interest in Jewell.