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Broncos camp preview: Is Jonas Griffith ready to become Josey Jewell's inside linebacker partner?

Griffith will get strong competition from Alex Singleton, who led the Eagles in tackles the previous two years. But the Broncos are showing faith in Griffith.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — About halfway through last season, as the Broncos’ inside linebacker position was getting crushed by injuries, third-string Cleveland running backs, and a backup quarterback, head coach Vic Fangio started telling people the team needs to find a way to get Jonas Griffith on the field.

It was a stretch because while Griffith has the size and athleticism to play well on special teams, at least three NFL teams, including the Broncos, considered him a raw, small school prospect who long-term had the potential to develop as an inside linebacker. He went undrafted out of Indiana State in 2020 and signed with the 49ers but with Covid-19 wiping out the offseason, Griffith didn’t get a chance to develop under head coach Kyle Shanahan or to be properly evaluated by general manager John Lynch. Griffith was cut, then went to the Indianapolis Colts for a week before he was cut again, then went back to the 49ers’ practice squad where he spent the rest of the 2020 season.

For the 2021 preseason, Griffith was a special teams force, but because the 49ers were so loaded with inside linebackers, they all but gave him to the Broncos, where first-year general manager George Paton was desperate for special teams help. It was Griffith and a seventh rounder in exchange for a sixth-round and 2023 seventh-round draft pick.

This is not the type of compensation a team ordinarily surrenders for a future starting linebacker.

Griffith, now 25, was placed on the Broncos’ season-opening 53-man roster the second he was acquired and less than two weeks away from his new team’s season opener.

The season carried on and the backup linebackers to the backups starting going down, too, with injuries and finally with four games remaining in the season, Fangio had little choice but to throw Griffith (who had missed four games with an hamstring injury) in there as a starting inside linebacker in game 14 against the Cincinnati Bengals alongside another talented but underdeveloped rookie, Baron Browning.

The Bengals, who would go on to nearly win the Super Bowl, would win but only by 15-10 as their star running back Joe Mixon was held to 58 yards on 17 carries, while tight end C.J. Uzomah had just three catches for 18 yards. Browning and Griffith led the Denver D with 10 and 8 tackles each.

The next week, a hard-fought 17-13 loss at the rival Las Vegas Raiders, Griffith was dynamic, registering a game-best 13 tackles with two coming behind the line of scrimmage. In the Broncos’ final four games, which were Griffith’s first four NFL starts, he had 40 tackles.

Jonas Griffith was blossoming right before the Broncos’ eyes.                 

“You kind of have an illusion of like, ‘I can do this,’ Griffith said before Bronco players were dismissed for vacation last month. “But when you actually do it, that’s a little bit different. … I feel like that was huge for me and big confidence booster going into the offseason.”

With Broncos players reporting to training camp Tuesday and practicing for the first time Wednesday, is Griffith ready to become a full-time starter?

The Broncos have little doubt. They put so much faith in Griffith to play alongside returning starter Josey Jewell – the first of the inside linebackers to go down with injury last season – they moved Browning to outside linebacker. The Broncos’ brass believes so much in Griffith they didn’t select an inside linebacker like Alabama’s Christian Harris with their No. 64 or No. 80 draft picks. Nor did the Broncos sign a high-priced free agent like Bobby Wagner or Myles Jack.

“You definitely saw a couple of steps in the last couple games of last year of where he excelled,’’ Jewell said of Griffith. “Whether it be the quickness of the recognition of the plays, the guy is always fast, so you always see that on the field and just the physicalness that started to creep up and come into the last couple of games. … And just his understanding of the game. Route concepts and stuff like that, so it’s been fun watching him progress so far.”

The Broncos did sign free-agent Alex Singleton on a one-year deal with the idea he would compete with Griffith for the right to start alongside Jewell. Know this: Regardless of whether its Griffith or Singleton, Jewell is going to line up next to a great story. Singleton was undrafted out of Montana State in 2015 – and didn’t play his first NFL game until 2019. And then in 2020 and 2021 he led the Eagles in tackles with 120 and 137. In between was a three-season stint in the Canadian Football League.

Singleton may not have the physical tools normally associated with an NFL starting inside linebacker but no player has better instincts. Griffith clearly got the majority of first-team reps this offseason, and has the prototype build of 6-foot-4, 250 pounds and enough speed to stay on the field on third down. But once the pads go on, look for Singleton to make his move.

Credit: AP
Philadelphia Eagles' Alex Singleton reacts after a stop during the second half of an NFL football game against the Washington Football Team, Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

The Broncos’ fourth inside linebacker is Justin Strnad. At this time last year, Strnad was the linebacker the Broncos were excited about. A fifth round rookie in 2020 who missed the season following surgery to repair a dislocated wrist, Strnad made his way to the starting lineup until the Browns’ game, when little known Browns’ back D’Ernest Johnson rushed for 146 yards and backup quarterback Case Keenum converted a fourth-and-3 from the Broncos’ 6 by running through Strnad for a 5-yard gain.

Credit: AP
Denver Broncos linebacker Justin Strnad (40) pursues against the Baltimore Ravens during an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 3, 2021, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Still, for all the concern that has been expressed about the Broncos’ inside linebacker position, the fact Singleton and his 137 tackles from a season ago could be a backup means the Denver D is in better position than most.

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