ENGLEWOOD – Brandon Jones was rated as the No. 3 safety in the NFL last season by Pro Football Focus. Now, he feels even more comfortable entering his second season with the Broncos and has alongside him former All-Pro safety Talanoa Hufanga.
That might not be good news for foes.
“The second year going into a similar system with similar players and similar coaches, everything is coming a lot easier,’’ Jones said Tuesday after the first practice of a three-day mandatory minicamp at Broncos Park.
Could the Broncos have one of the best safety duos in the NFL? Hufanga, who was first-team All-Pro with San Francisco in 2023, signed as a free agent with Denver in March.
“We can do a lot of different things, whatever is asked of us,” Jones said. “We can just have a lot of freedom and feel comfortable with whoever goes down in certain situations.”
Jones, at Texas, and Hufanga, at USC, had the same college safety coach in Craig Naivar. Jones said he long has been friends with Hufanga and it has been “really fun” playing alongside him.
Jones played his first four NFL seasons with Miami before signing a three-year, $20 million contract with the Broncos in March 2024. He was a part-time starter with the Dolphins and didn’t like not being regarded as an every-down player.
“I was glad I was able to show (last season) that I can be more versatile, especially being labeled early on in my career as one thing,’’ Jones said. “I’m just excited to continue to do what I can do and be a great teammate and leader for this defense.”
Jones said a “big goal” for this season is to “take that leadership role and be more of a vocal guy.” Broncos coach Sean Payton is confident that can happen and believes Jones will mesh well with Hufanga, expected to replace P.J. Locke as a starter.
“Hufanga next to (Jones), the communication on that back end, those guys are on the same page playing together,’’ Payton said. “I know they both have high standards.”
After not previously being on hand for spring drills, including the past two weeks for organized team activities, Broncos defensive end John Franklin-Myers took the field as expected for the first day of the minicamp.
Franklin-Myers had elected to train elsewhere during the spring. He spent time in the Dallas area working with notable pass-rush specialist B.T. Jordan and in Naples, Fla., working with his longtime trainer and a nutritionist.
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Excluding those working their way back from injuries, the only notable Broncos player absent Tuesday was second-year wide receiver Devaughn Vele. Payton did not specify why Vele did not practice.
“All good,’’ Payton said when asked about it. “We’ve had great attendance. We’re very much aware each day if someone has an event or doing something. All good.”
Outside linebacker Nik Bonitto played 61.3% of the Broncos’ defensive snaps last season. Apparently that was too much.
“He’s playing at a high level,’’ Payton said about Bonitto. “We have to be careful about his snap count. If you went back and did any homework and you saw he’s at a pitch count, that’s borderline too high. We have to be smart about that.”
Bonitto, who has one year left on his contract, is eligible for an extension that could be worth more than $20 million per season.
For the first time this spring, the Broncos worked on red-zone plays.
Payton said quarterback Bo Nix “was outstanding” in the red zone last season as a rookie. Now it’s a matter of continuing to work on things.
“(The) significance of the running game across the 15(-yard line) you can’t understate,’’ Payton said. “All of that we look at in the offseason, self-scout. ‘What do we want to add? What do we want to remove? What can we do better?’ So I think his performance in that area will improve as we do as a unit.”
Nix threw an interception Tuesday but it wasn’t his fault. His pass bounced off the hands of undrafted rookie receiver Courtney Jackson and cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian grabbed it and ran toward the end zone.
Payton said third-year cornerback Riley Moss, a starter last season for the first time, is “having a good offseason” and called him “extremely smart.” … Payton said the Broncos “have a chance to be a real good defense” but that “time will tell” and there is a need to “keep improving.” … Payton is showing rookie tight end Caleb Lohner, who played five years of college basketball but just one of football, clips of Jimmy Graham, a former basketball player whom Payton once coached as a Pro Bowl tight end in New Orleans.
