ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Good as he’s been, Denver Broncos safety Brandon Jones keeps his feet on the ground.
Not his shoes or cleats or even his socks. His feet.
Before practice, after practice, in the locker room, Jones is often seen walking barefoot.
“Actually you just missed it because after practice I walked all the way from indoors (Pat Bowlen Fieldhouse) to our facility and people were like, 'What are you doing?’’’ Jones said in an interview on a snowy Wednesday with 9NEWS for the Broncos Huddle.
Jones, by the way, took his shoes off and conducted the interview barefoot at the invitation of host Scotty “Let Them Dogs Breathe” Gange.
“I was telling them, ‘It’s fine, it’s just snow,’ Jones said. "I train with a guy (eight-year NFL wide receiver) Mack Hollins, he plays with Buffalo now, he was my teammate in Miami (2019-21). He’s really big on the whole barefoot thing. During the offseason, we do all our training barefoot. It’s kind of been part of me now. It really works and strengthens a lot of muscles you’re not normally able to.”
Last time anyone saw Jones in action, he was scooting 37 yards with an interception return to the Raiders’ red zone, a game-changing play in the third quarter that set up a go-ahead touchdown throw from Bo Nix to Courtland Sutton.
Raiders’ quarterback Gardner Minshew II was hit by edge rusher Jonathon Cooper as he threw and his pass overshot open receiver Jakobi Meyers and into the arms of the more open Jones.
“I think honestly I was in the right place at the right time,’’ Jones said. “I think the rush – believe it was Coop and Nik (Bonitto) -- were able to get pressure on him. I had the easy part. The ball was in the air. It is challenging moments like that because the ball is in the air, moving in slow motion, and you’re like, ‘Please do not drop this. I’ll never be able to live it down if I drop this.’ So I was able to catch it. The team was blocking their tails off for me and then we were able to score on that drive.”
Jones has gone old school this year in that he not only comes up with takeaways, he does something with them. Counting his interception and fumble recovery against Tampa Bay in game 3, Jones has returns of 37, 34 and 37 yards – 108 combined return yards – off his three takeaways.
“I’m just happy this time – I think I told you guys last time my first problem was I got a little too excited and I was trying to go across field and do a lot,’’ Jones said.
Looked cool, though.
“It did look cool,’’ he said. “But I was super tired for the rest of the game. So now I was, catch the ball and go vertical. So I was able to do that.”
Broncos head coach Sean Payton has said the safety combination of Jones and P.J. Locke are giving the Denver defense better play than the previous year. Kareem Jackson and Justin Simmons were the more experienced and accomplished safety tandem last year but they’re both 30-somethings. Jones and Locke have far greater range and both are playmakers.
Jones leads the team with 79 tackles and Locke is fifth with 51.
“We’re just always on the same page for the most part,’’ Jones said of Locke. “It’s kind of weird, we can just give each other a look and we know what each other is thinking.”
Their symbiotic relationship began at the University of Texas where Jones was a safety and Locke a nickel back for three seasons together.
“He was giving me the calls,’’ Locke said. “But even then I would look back and give him some kind of gesture, he knew exactly what I was talking about. Competing where we’re at now, the chemistry is already there. We’re trying to be one of the best tandems in the league.”
Jones is the left safety, Locke plays on the right. Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph often plays a single-high safety with Jones and Locke alternating on how who moves up into the box, and who stays back, depending on which hash the ball is hiked from.
The Longhorn safety duo will be tested Monday night against the Cleveland Browns, who will try to run the ball with Nick Chubb and have quarterback Jameis Winston spray the field with deeper intermediate throws. Win and the Broncos will be close to clinching the No. 7 AFC playoff seed with an 8-5 record heading into next week’s bye.
Broncos Country is excited, and nervous, about this team ending Denver’s eight-season playoff drought – the second-longest in the league to the New York Jets.
“I know it’s super cliché but – we know that is something we all want to accomplish and be a part of,’’ Jones said. “We’ve had a real good season thus far. But I think we’ve been able to take it one game at a time and just playing good football at all three units, offense, defense, special teams. We know where we can go and we just have to keep on doing our thing.”
And with that Jones picked up his shoes and walked barefoot into the locker room.
“Listen, snow will not kill you, I promise you,’’ he said.
