Dolphins’ Brandon Jones looking to shed ‘blitzing safety’ label in Year 3
The key theme for the Dolphins defense throughout offseason practices has been continuity.
At the last OTA session open to reporters Tuesday, even with veterans such as cornerback Xavien Howard and Byron Jones sitting out team drills, the unit still featured several players from a defense that finished 2021 as one of the NFL’s best.
With defensive coordinator Josh Boyer being retained and a scheme mainly kept intact, the defense could see improvement from select players growing more comfortable in — and expanding — their roles. While second-year players Jevon Holland and Jaelan Phillips have received praise for their strides, the defense could also benefit from the continued progression of third-year safety Brandon Jones.
“I think it has huge dividends,” Jones said of the defense’s continuity after practice, “in just, we’ve built chemistry and connection with each other that kind of goes beyond the field, which is huge. We just all genuinely love playing with each other and it’s more than just football, and that goes a long way. We have fun. We stay communicating. We’re always on the same page. And I think that chemistry at the end of the day goes a long way.”
Jones, a third-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, broke through as a full-time player last season, starting 13 games. His 79 combined tackles ranked fourth on the team, and his five sacks led all safeties. Jones’ 93 snaps also led all safeties by a vast margin.
Despite his extensive work near the line of scrimmage, Jones said he’s looking to make an impact everywhere on the field. Pro Football Focus rated Jones among the best pass rushers at his position last season, but his coverage grade was one of the lowest.
“I’m trying to grow in every part of my game,” Jones said. “I think I’ve got a lot to work on, whether it’s man coverage, blitzing, being more of a vocal leader. In the game of football, you can never be too prepared and never do too much. So, any way I can grow my game, I’m attacking it.
“I don’t necessarily think I’m identified as just a blitzing safety,” he added, “especially with the amount of stuff they have me doing on defense, playing in multiple different positions. My goal is to obviously kind of branch away from being labeled as, ‘This guy can only blitz. This guy can’t cover. This guy can’t do this. This guy can’t do that.’ [I’m] just trying to find the best way for me that I can be a well-rounded football player.”
Weeks ago, cornerback Nik Needham noted Jones and Holland as players whose improvement have been noticeable during the offseason workout program.
“You can just tell that back there they work together well now,” he said in May. “They’ll get on each other, hold each other more accountable because I think they’re comfortable with each other.”
While communication across the defense is imperative, Jones’ rapport with Holland as the last line of defense is arguably as important as any player. Jones said the progress the safety pairing has made on the field is the continued growth of a relationship that naturally formed last season.
“It’s strange because when he first got here, we just kind of connected, which is kind of weird,” Jones said. “We always sit in the back, we’re always communicating. We’re always aware of what happens, what’s going to happen if this guy moves. What we have to get in and out of and showing different schemes and he’s down, I’m down, just be able to be multiple and do a lot of different things.
“That relationship that we made early on has definitely shown itself off the field and we’ve become really good friends and [developed] that trust factor in each other.”
This story was originally published June 7, 2022 at 3:50 PM.
