The Denver Broncos have some decisions to make with their free agents. One of them is defensive tackle D.J. Jones, who ended up having a solid season as a starter and key rotational piece up front.
But should the Broncos re-sign him or let him walk in free agency?
Compensatory picks are something to consider when letting players walk in free agency. However, given the expectations that the Broncos will go out and sign a couple of players in free agency, especially on defense, the compensatory pick aspect seems moot.
The Broncos will likely sign more free agents than they have qualifying players sign elsewhere, even if Jones is allowed to walk. For that reason, the compensatory pick aspect isn’t part of the Jones equation.
Jones initially signed for three years and $30 million, but he didn’t live up to that contract. Despite that, Spotrac.com has his market value at $11.17 million on a one-year deal, which, if that's accurate, the Broncos won't likely be looking to re-sign him and instead look towards the draft or a cheaper veteran to replace what he brings.
In the 2024 season, Jones played 40.65% of the Broncos' defensive snaps. That's not enough play-time to justify Spotrac's cost as his market value. Someone like B.J. Hill, Poona Ford, or Javon Hargrave could be cheaper options to replace Jones and take the snaps Jones’ departure would open up.
According to Pro Football Focus, 67 interior defensive linemen played 205 snaps as a run defender in the 2024 season. Jones ranked 28th, right ahead of Malcolm Roach, with Hill at 12th, Ford was fifth, and Hargrave didn’t qualify.
Hill has a market value of $9 million, and Ford has a market value of $6 million. To replace not quite 41% of the snaps, Ford is more bang for the buck at his market value estimate.
That would be about the ideal range to re-sign Jones, but we can push it to $8 million and be okay with it because of his familiarity with the scheme and those around him.
The Broncos need to be more formidable up front against the run so they don’t have the issues they did against the Buffalo Bills. However, the problem was as much on the edge and the linebackers as on Roach and Jones.
For what Spotrac has their market value, the Broncos should be all over Ford. However, markets are unpredictable, and if the Broncos can get Jones back on a decent deal, then it's worth exploring.
The Broncos can’t break the bank for him, however, as they have other priorities that they need to spend to upgrade. It's a good draft class for options to replace Jones and a solid free-agent group to replace what Jones brings, which makes it even more imperative that the Broncos don’t overspend for a sub-41% snap count player.
