Broncos Player Profile: Josey Jewell #47 | Inside Linebacker
Before getting hurt early in the 2021 season, Josey Jewell was poised to have a career year for the Denver Broncos. Instead, Jewell went down with a season-ending injury in the second game on the schedule after playing only 82 snaps on defense.
His injury came on a special teams play, which led many fans to question why he was playing special teams in the first place. Throughout the NFL, it's common to have starting linebackers play on special teams.
Even when Jewell was a starter in previous seasons, he was often found on special teams. Linebacker happens to be one of the positions that are most used on the third phase.
Despite that, the Broncos re-signed Jewell, and he is projected to have a role on this defense. He has a high football IQ and great instincts, but how does he factor in with the rest of the linebackers as the coaching staff looks to find their two starters?
Let's dive into Jewell's resume to find out.
Biography
Jewell was born on December 25 and will turn 28 this year. He was born and raised in Iowa on a turkey farm. Jewell was a two-star prospect who committed to the University of Iowa.
College Career
Jewell redshirted his first year and saw action in 11 games, starting four, in the 2014 season. He picked up 51 tackles and six pressures, with one sack that season, as he did whatever was asked.
From 2015 on, Jewell was the full-time starter and was a force on the Hawkeyes' defense. Over those final three seasons, he picked up 382 tackles while missing 39 tackles. He also picked up 42 pressures with nine sacks, two forced fumbles, six interceptions, and 18 pass deflections, and allowed zero touchdowns.
It was a tremendous three-year stretch for Jewell. He was consistent and gave it all on every snap he was out there.
Jewell earned Second-team All-Big Ten honors in 2015 and 2016, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in 2017, was a finalist for the Butkus Award, won the Jack Lambert Award, and was a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski award.
There was no question Jewell had a role in the NFL, but there were questions about his play and whether he was athletic enough. He was a dominant player in college, though, and Pro Football Focus graded him in 2016, 2017, and 2018 with 84.7, 79.3, and 83.5, respectively.
Draft
Jewell had a chance to answer the athletic questions at the NFL Scouting Combine, but his testing showed what many thought. While he had an excellent 3-cone and 60-yard shuttle, the rest of his testing was middle-of-the-pack at best.
However, there was nothing but praise for Jewell's football IQ and intangibles. It led to many analysts having him in their top 100-150 players in the class with an early Day 3 grade.
The Broncos picked him near the top of the fourth round with the 106th overall selection.
Professional Career
Jewell saw the field as a rookie and started multiple games while playing in all 16. He played a total of 460 snaps on defense and struggled.
Jewell's play in coverage was a consistent issue as he allowed a passer rating of 120.8 when targeted in coverage, with three touchdowns allowed. While he did better as a run defender, the NFL was moving away from two-down run defenders. As a result, Jewell had to improve in coverage.
The 2019 season saw Jewell start the first three games, where he again struggled in coverage. After the Week 3 matchup, Jewell was benched and played only 59 snaps on defense over the rest of the season.
Jewell was back in the starting lineup for the 2020 season and showed much-needed improvement with his play overall. His run game improved, and while his play in coverage wasn't great, it was good enough to be a starter in the NFL.
Jewell was showing the proper progress as he came into his own as a player. By the end of the 2020 season, there was high hope for him for the 2021 season.
Throughout his career, the fan perception of Jewell has been split. Some remember his early issues in coverage and think he is still a lousy linebacker, while others look at the improvements he has made and think he is a capable linebacker, if not a good one.
The 2021 season started to show the latter group of fans to be correct. Jewell was on pace to have a career year and was integral to the Broncos' defense. Even after he got hurt in the second game of the season, it was clear how important he was as the defense was never the same when he wasn't out there on the field.
Jewell's instincts and intangibles were important, and losing him was hard to overcome. While he isn't a top-10 linebacker in the NFL, his value was clarified, and the Broncos' coaching staff and front office agreed.
Despite also having Alexander Johnson and Kenny Young as free agents, the Broncos opted to bring back Jewell. Denver had a higher value on Jewell and got a two-year deal done, while Young signed with another team after the draft, and Johnson remains a free agent.
2022 Outlook
Jewell will likely be one of the top two linebackers for the 2022 season. The question is whether he will be No. 1 or 2 alongside Jonas Griffith.
Griffith has the athleticism that Jewell lacks, but Jewell has more experience and better instincts. They can complement each other quite well and become a very effective duo when the Broncos use two linebackers.
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