American Football

NFL free agent profile: ILB Josey Jewell

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Denver Broncos v Las Vegas Raiders
Photo by Candice Ward/Getty Images

Does it makes sense to resign the linebacker?

As we continue our NFL Free Agent Profile series, I’ll focus on a player that would be good to resign for the Denver Broncos, if it would be expensive to do so.

Josey Jewell — Inside Linebacker

Age: 29 | Experience: 6 Years (78 games played, 58 starts)

Height and Weight: 6’2 and 236 pounds

Josey was a fourth-round selection by the Broncos in the 2018 NFL Draft. He started nine games as a rookie, but only appeared on 43% of the defensive snaps.

Year Age Tm Pos No. G GS Int Yds TD Lng PD FF Fmb FR Yds TD Sk Comb Solo Ast TFL QBHits Sfty AV
2018 24 DEN RILB 47 16 9 0 0 0 0 3 0 0.0 58 38 20 4 0 5
2019 25 DEN LB 47 15 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 1.5 38 21 17 1 2 3
2020 26 DEN RILB 47 16 16 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 2.0 113 67 46 5 5 8
2021 27 DEN LB 47 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 8 7 1 2 0 1
2022 28 DEN LB 47 13 13 2 21 0 21 4 2 0 2 5 0 2.5 128 70 58 7 4 8
2023 29 DEN LB 47 16 15 0 0 0 0 3 2 0 3 10 0 3.0 108 60 48 2 3 6
Career 78 58 2 21 0 21 15 5 0 7 15 0 9.0 453 263 190 21 14 31

His best season was 2022 when he was credited with 128 combined tackles (70 solo), 7 TFL, 2 INT, 4 PD, 2 FF, 2 FR and 2.5 sacks. He missed most of the 2021 season with a torn pectoral muscle (IIRC) after playing almost every snap on defense the year before. Defensive snap % by year and def snaps

  • 2018 – 43%, 459
  • 2019 – 22%, 214
  • 2020 – 93%, 1011
  • 2021 – 7%, 82
  • 2022 – 95%, 826
  • 2023 – 75%, 796

Relative to his role in 2020 and 2022, Jewell’s playing time was reduced this season as Alex Singleton was the ILB who got to stay on the field on obvious passing downs. That might hurt Jewell’s value in free agency. Jewell earned 5.5 million last season in the second year of his two year contract. He is one of the few Bronco draftees over the past decade that has been signed to a second contract by Denver. Spotrac.com says that his market value is 7.7 million. That would put him somewhere near the 10th highest ILB contract. Roquan Smith currently is the highest paid ILB making 20 million per year.

Statistically he is average. He does everything passably well for an ILB, but he doesn’t do anything particularly well. He is decent in pass coverage generally allowing a passer rating in the mid 90s when his man is targeted. That is average for NFL QBs, so Josey is neither good nor bad in coverage. He is ok as a pass rusher, but you want a little bit higher of a pressure rate since ILB’s generally don’t rush the passer that often. The table below shows data from SISdatahub.com.

Year Total Pass Rushers Rush% sacks hurries hits knockdowns pressures passes batted sack% hurry% hit% knckdwn% pressure% pbu%
2018 17 8.6 0 3 2 0 4 0 0 17.6 11.8 0 25 0
2019 9 7.9 1.5 2 1 0 4 0 16.7 22.2 11.1 0 44.4 0
2020 79 13.4 2 6 6 3 10 0 2.5 7.6 7.6 3.8 12.8 0
2021 2 3.7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022 69 14.7 2.5 5 7 1 11 0 3.7 7.2 10.1 1.4 16.2 0
2023 63 13.9 3 5 4 1 10 0 5 7.9 6.3 1.6 16.4 0

The best pass rushing ILBs generated pressure on 25-30% of their pass rushes. When Jewell has had a significant number of pass rushes, he has been fairly ineffective at generating pressure. Last season there were eight ILBs who had 30 or more pass rushes and generated pressure on 25% or more their pass rushes. Generally ILBs don’t rush the passer more than 20% of the time on passing plays. Most are in the range of 10-20% pass rushing where are OLBs are flipped, rushing the passer about 80-90% of the time. Nik Bonitto rushed on 85% of passing downs where he was on the field, Jewell 13.9% and Singleton 11.9%.

In terms of making tackles when he got there, Jewell was one of the best in the league in 2023. According to PFR, his missed tackle rate was 3.6%.

Player Tm Age Pos G GS Bltz Hrry QBKD Sk Prss Comb MTkl MTkl%
Jamien Sherwood NYJ 23 LB 17 3 3 0 0 0 0 46 0 0.00%
K.J. Britt TAM 25 LB 16 4 11 0 0 0 0 29 0 0.00%
Ernest Jones LAR 24 LB 15 15 58 7 2 4.5 14 145 2 1.40%
Preston Smith GNB 31 LB 17 17 56 4 10 8 23 48 1 2.00%
Oren Burks SFO 28 LB 15 5 8 2 0 1 3 46 1 2.10%
Jaelan Phillips MIA 24 LB 8 6 8 6 4 6.5 17 43 1 2.30%
Khaleke Hudson WAS 26 LB 17 8 22 1 1 1 3 74 2 2.60%
Lukas Van Ness GNB 22 LB 17 0 16 2 6 4 12 32 1 3.00%
Cody Barton WAS 27 LB 13 13 27 4 0 0 4 121 4 3.20%
Nick Bolton KAN 23 LB 8 8 23 1 1 0 2 60 2 3.20%
Nakobe Dean PHI 23 LB 5 4 6 0 0 0.5 1 30 1 3.20%
Mark Robinson PIT 24 LB 17 2 7 0 0 1 1 30 1 3.20%
Leighton Vander Esch DAL 27 LB 5 5 18 0 0 0 0 30 1 3.20%
Jack Cochrane KAN 24 LB 17 1 10 0 0 0 0 28 1 3.40%
Damone Clark DAL 23 LB 17 17 42 1 1 0 2 109 4 3.50%
Jermaine Johnson II* NYJ 24 LB 17 17 26 9 7 7.5 25 55 2 3.50%
Kenneth Murray LAC 25 LB 15 15 61 2 0 3 5 107 4 3.60%
Josey Jewell DEN 29 LB 16 15 38 1 1 3 5 108 4 3.60%
De’Vondre Campbell GNB 30 LB 11 11 17 2 2 0 4 75 3 3.80%
Eric Kendricks LAC 31 LB 15 14 53 1 2 3.5 7 117 5 4.10%
Pete Werner NOR 24 LB 16 16 40 1 0 0.5 2 93 4 4.10%
Bobby Wagner* SEA 33 LB 17 16 44 1 2 3.5 7 183 8 4.20%
Leo Chenal KAN 23 LB 17 10 24 4 4 3 11 65 3 4.40%
Micah Parsons* DAL 24 LB 17 17 47 11 16 14 43 64 3 4.50%
Zaven Collins ARI 24 LB 17 17 22 6 2 3.5 12 41 2 4.70%
Roquan Smith*+ BAL 26 LB 16 16 42 1 4 1.5 7 158 8 4.80%
Quay Walker GNB 23 LB 14 14 59 2 2 2.5 7 118 6 4.80%
Nick Niemann LAC 26 LB 17 3 12 0 1 0 1 40 2 4.80%
Logan Wilson CIN 27 LB 17 17 38 0 2 1 4 135 7 4.90%
Alex Highsmith PIT 26 LB 17 17 61 7 11 7 26 57 3 5.00%
Mack Wilson NWE 25 LB 17 1 30 6 1 3.5 11 37 2 5.10%
Devin Bush Jr. SEA 25 LB 13 3 5 0 0 0 0 37 2 5.10%
Jordan Hicks MIN 31 LB 13 13 89 4 1 1 6 107 6 5.30%
Isaiah McDuffie GNB 24 LB 16 8 19 1 2 0.5 4 86 5 5.50%
Boye Mafe SEA 25 LB 16 16 14 8 8 9 25 52 3 5.50%
Tony Fields CLE 24 LB 17 4 10 0 0 0 0 34 2 5.60%
Nicholas Morrow PHI 28 LB 15 12 33 0 2 3 5 95 6 5.90%
Jack Gibbens TEN 25 LB 14 13 16 2 1 1 4 95 6 5.90%
Eric Wilson GNB 29 LB 17 0 9 0 1 0 1 31 2 6.10%
Divine Deablo LVR 25 LB 15 15 24 1 1 1 3 106 7 6.20%
Lavonte David TAM 33 LB 15 15 51 4 0 4.5 9 134 9 6.30%
Germaine Pratt CIN 27 LB 17 17 25 2 0 2 5 118 8 6.30%
Kyzir White ARI 27 LB 11 11 20 1 0 2 3 90 6 6.30%
David Mayo WAS 30 LB 17 5 11 1 0 2 3 59 4 6.30%
Ivan Pace MIN 23 LB 17 11 74 1 6 2.5 10 102 7 6.40%
Anthony Walker CLE 28 LB 12 12 25 0 2 0 2 44 3 6.40%
Elandon Roberts PIT 29 LB 16 15 32 2 3 2.5 8 101 7 6.50%
Willie Gay Jr. KAN 25 LB 16 15 37 2 2 1 5 58 4 6.50%
Devin White TAM 25 LB 14 13 75 4 6 2.5 13 83 6 6.70%
Krys Barnes ARI 25 LB 16 6 5 0 1 0 1 55 4 6.80%
Kaden Elliss ATL 28 LB 17 17 39 3 2 4 9 122 9 6.90%
Blake Cashman HOU 27 LB 14 13 28 2 3 2 7 106 8 7.00%
Dorian Williams BUF 22 LB 17 2 11 0 2 0 2 40 3 7.00%
Azeez Al-Shaair TEN 26 LB 17 17 42 1 4 2 7 163 13 7.40%
Bobby Okereke NYG 27 LB 17 17 69 2 4 2.5 9 149 12 7.50%
Robert Spillane LVR 28 LB 17 17 36 1 3 3.5 8 148 12 7.50%
Kingsley Enagbare GNB 23 LB 17 4 51 5 4 2 11 37 3 7.50%
Zaire Franklin IND 27 LB 16 16 23 0 1 1.5 3 179 15 7.70%
T.J. Edwards CHI 27 LB 17 17 68 2 6 2.5 11 155 13 7.70%
Alex Singleton DEN 30 LB 17 16 52 1 3 2 6 177 15 7.80%
C.J. Mosley NYJ 31 LB 17 17 29 0 1 0.5 2 152 13 7.90%
Derrick Barnes DET 24 LB 16 13 67 3 4 1 8 81 7 8.00%
Christian Harris HOU 22 LB 16 12 29 0 1 2 3 101 9 8.20%
Drue Tranquill KAN 28 LB 16 8 49 1 2 4.5 8 78 7 8.20%
Demario Davis* NOR 34 LB 17 17 39 3 5 6.5 15 121 11 8.30%
Jahlani Tavai NWE 27 LB 17 16 55 1 3 1 5 110 10 8.30%
Rashan Gary GNB 26 LB 17 13 57 10 10 9 30 44 4 8.30%
Cole Holcomb PIT 27 LB 8 8 37 0 2 0 2 54 5 8.50%
Quincy Williams+ NYJ 27 LB 17 16 29 1 2 2 5 139 13 8.60%
Devin Lloyd JAX 25 LB 15 15 34 1 1 0 2 127 12 8.60%
Tyrel Dodson BUF 25 LB 17 10 36 1 3 2.5 7 74 7 8.60%
Zach Cunningham PHI 29 LB 13 10 32 0 1 0 1 85 8 8.60%
Dre Greenlaw SFO 26 LB 15 15 39 2 2 1.5 6 120 12 9.10%
Zack Baun NOR 27 LB 17 6 25 4 2 2 8 30 3 9.10%
Jamin Davis WAS 25 LB 13 13 33 1 0 3 4 89 9 9.20%
Terrel Bernard BUF 24 LB 17 17 50 5 2 6.5 14 143 15 9.50%
Patrick Queen* BAL 24 LB 17 17 63 4 2 3.5 10 133 14 9.50%
Jack Campbell DET 23 LB 17 12 43 1 1 2 4 95 10 9.50%
Fred Warner*+ SFO 27 LB 17 17 43 1 4 2.5 8 132 14 9.60%
Anfernee Jennings NWE 26 LB 15 14 55 2 3 1.5 7 66 7 9.60%
Sione Takitaki CLE 28 LB 15 7 32 1 1 2 4 65 7 9.70%
Jordyn Brooks SEA 26 LB 16 16 22 2 2 4.5 9 111 12 9.80%
Luke Masterson LVR 25 LB 16 1 2 0 0 0 0 27 3 10.00%
Ja’Whaun Bentley NWE 27 LB 16 16 77 6 5 4.5 16 114 13 10.20%
Tremaine Edmunds CHI 25 LB 15 15 34 0 0 0 0 113 13 10.30%
Nathan Landman ATL 25 LB 16 14 17 1 2 2 5 110 13 10.60%
Mykal Walker PIT 26 LB 8 5 12 0 0 0 0 33 4 10.80%
David Long MIA 27 LB 17 17 65 4 4 1 9 113 14 11.00%
Foyesade Oluokun JAX 28 LB 17 17 49 5 6 2.5 14 173 22 11.30%
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah* CLE 24 LB 16 13 60 1 0 3.5 5 101 13 11.40%
Andrew Van Ginkel MIA 28 LB 17 11 40 3 10 6 20 69 9 11.50%
E.J. Speed IND 28 LB 16 11 32 2 1 1 4 102 14 12.10%
Jerome Baker MIA 27 LB 13 12 41 2 2 1.5 6 78 11 12.40%
Deion Jones CAR 29 LB 13 3 15 0 0 1 1 35 5 12.50%
Frankie Luvu CAR 27 LB 17 17 46 2 5 5.5 13 125 18 12.60%
T.J. Watt*+ PIT 29 LB 17 17 23 12 18 19 50 68 10 12.80%
Kwon Alexander PIT 29 LB 9 2 28 0 1 1 2 41 6 12.80%
Josh Woods ARI 27 LB 11 7 12 1 0 0.5 2 61 9 12.90%
Nick Herbig PIT 22 LB 17 0 7 0 0 3 3 27 4 12.90%
Christian Rozeboom LAR 26 LB 17 5 19 0 2 0 2 79 12 13.20%
Duke Riley MIA 29 LB 17 5 16 1 1 0.5 3 42 7 14.30%
Matt Milano BUF 29 LB 5 5 8 0 1 0 1 30 5 14.30%
Jack Sanborn CHI 23 LB 17 10 16 2 0 1 3 65 11 14.50%
Alex Anzalone DET 29 LB 16 16 75 5 9 3 17 129 22 14.60%
Denzel Perryman HOU 31 LB 12 11 20 2 1 0.5 4 76 13 14.60%
Kamu Grugier-Hill CAR 29 LB 17 5 7 0 0 1 1 56 10 15.20%
Darrell Taylor SEA 26 LB 17 5 12 9 2 5.5 17 28 5 15.20%
Bradley Chubb MIA 27 LB 16 16 25 9 11 11 33 73 14 16.10%
Henry To’oTo’o HOU 22 LB 14 6 15 3 1 0 4 61 12 16.40%
Micah McFadden NYG 23 LB 16 14 53 2 4 1 8 101 22 17.90%

That was tied for 18th among players listed as “LB” by PFR (see above). Singleton missed tackles more than twice as often (7.8%), although PFR is much more forgiving in terms of missed/broken tackles than SIS. According to SIS, Jewell missed 12.3% of the time while Singleton missed 15.7%. Bobby Wagner was best among LBs with a miss rate of 5.7%. With a minimum of 70 tackles, Christian Rozeboom was the worst at 27.1%. PFR shows Micah McFadden as the worst at 17.9%.

While Jewell is good at making tackles when he gets there, he doesn’t have the speed of Singleton to get there as often. I’ve always hoped that his ability to diagnose plays would outweigh his limited foot speed and quickness, but it generally has not. Jewell has never had more than 7 TFL in a season. Elite ILBs are good at diagnosing plays AND quick/fast. They generally have more TFLs, but it also depends on the role they play on defense. Three-time first team All-Pro Fred Warner, has never had more than 7 TFL in a season. Bobby Wagner, on the other hand, has rarely had a season where he did not have seven or more TFL. He had a career high of 13 in 2017. Wagner has been first team AP six times in his career. Jewell hasn’t made the Pro Bowl. Wagner will most likely end up in the Hall of Fame.

If you look at guys who had the most tackles in 2023 (all are ILB/MLB) they had these numbers in terms of TFLs

  1. Bobby Wagner – 11
  2. Zaire Franklin – 3
  3. Alex Singleton – 6
  4. Foyesade Oluokun – 8
  5. Azeez Al-Shaair – 9
  6. Roquan Smith – 5
  7. TJ Edwards – 8
  8. CJ Moseley – 5
  9. Bobby Okereke – 11
  10. Robert Spillane – 7

So you can see that Jewell’s seven is about average (like most of Jewell’s game).

Given the cost constraints for the 2024 season, I don’t think the Broncos should spend the money to bring Jewell back. The defense might suffer, but the Broncos should ride with a cheaper option at ILB next season whether that is Drew Sanders, Jonas Griffith, Justin Strnad or a rookie. All would be a cheaper option than what Jewell is expected to receive as a free agent. Also keep in mind that Singleton will have a cap hit of 7.3 million for next season, but he carries plenty of dead money for 2024, so I doubt he ends up as a cap casualty.

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