Sai'Vion
Jones.
Sai'Vion
Jones.
LSU· 6'5"· 280 lb
"A long-armed, high-effort edge setter whose impressive senior year production hints at untapped potential, but whose limited pass-rush arsenal caps his ceiling."Pre-draft read
Base five-technique in an even front who played his LSU career as a heavy-handed end with the length to two-gap and the frame to kick inside on passing downs. He wins with hands and extension first: long arms land on the outside shoulder, he stacks, locks out and sheds late rather than shooting a gap, so the run defense reads controlled and patient instead of penetrating.
As a rusher he is a power player — long-strider bull, heavy club-swipe as the counter, enough closing burst to finish once a tackle's anchor gives. The plan is thin; he leans on power instead of sequencing moves. The signature is length used with intent. He keeps blockers off his chest longer than most 280-pounders, and that trait is what survives the jump.
Even-front 4-3/nickel base defense that asks its five-technique to stack and control gaps before it asks him to rush.
Year 1: early-down rotational base end and jumbo goal-line body. Ceiling: full-time 5-tech who kicks inside for 250 pass-rush snaps a year.
A one-gap attack front that grades ends on get-off and bend and asks him to win the edge as a stand-up wide rusher — his first step and ankle flexibility do not support it.
The frame is a run-front piece; the pass rush has to be coached in, not unlocked.
Sai'vion Jones | Defensive Line | Full 2024 LSU Highlights | 2025 NFL Draft
Full senior-season cut-up: edge setting, bull rushes and the two-sack opener against USC.
Sai'vion Jones College Football Highlights | LSU EDGE | NFL Draft Film
Draft-film reel focused on hand usage, extension and pursuit effort.
Sai'Vion Jones Is TENACIOUS! | 2025 NFL Draft Prospect Spotlight
Prospect spotlight breaking down his power rush and run-defense reps.
A four-year LSU developmental piece who left as a rotational starter rather than a finished product. Jones is a big, long, high-effort defensive lineman whose football identity is setting edges and holding the point, not bending the corner. He looks like a 4-3 base end who moonlights at three-technique on obvious passing downs.
The production tells the story of slow, real growth: three tackles as a true freshman, a rotational sophomore year, then 27 consecutive starts to close the career. His senior season was the best of the four — 40 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and two forced fumbles — and it opened with a two-sack game against USC that scouts kept coming back to. The flag was consistency: 11.5 career sacks across 51 games from a player with this frame is flash production, not takeover production, and the pass-rush arsenal never widened past power.
Boards had him as a Day 3 to late Day 2 name, roughly the 19th edge on The Athletic's list with a third-to-fourth-round grade, and the Senior Bowl invite kept him in the conversation. Denver traded back into the third round to take him at 101, betting on frame, motor and familiarity — DL coach Jamar Cain had coached him at LSU. It was a projection pick on tools, not a plug-and-play addition.
- 01
Length with purpose
33 1/2 inch arms land first and lock out, letting him stack tight ends and tackles and keep his frame clean in the run game.
- 02
Point-of-attack strength
holds his ground against single blocks and rarely gets displaced when his pad level stays under the blocker's.
- 03
Bull rush foundation
converts a long stride into real push and can walk a tackle back into the pocket on straight power.
- 04
Motor and pursuit
chases backside, finishes plays away from him, and his effort snaps are the ones that show up on the tape reel.
- 05
Positional flex
took reps at five-technique, wide end and reduced inside, which gives a defensive coordinator sub-package options.
- 01
Thin rush plan
power is the first, second and third move; the counters are late and he stalls once a tackle absorbs the initial charge.
- 02
Average get-off
the first step does not threaten edges, so his wins come on the second and third phase instead of at the snap.
- 03
Tight ankles and hips
a 6-foot-5 frame that struggles to sink and flatten to the quarterback, which caps him as a corner-bender.
- 04
Flash production
11.5 sacks across 51 college games from a player with these tools; he never turned the pressure count into finishes.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- —s
- Vertical
- 33inp50
- Broad jump
- 119inp50
- Three-cone
- —s
- Shuttle
- —s
- Bench
- 19repp50
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | LSU | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | LSU | 14 | 23 | 4.5 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2023 | LSU | 13 | 33 | 2.5 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2024 | LSU | 13 | 40 | 4.5 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Career | — | 51 | 99 | 11.5 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
Official LSU career totals: 51 games, 29 starts, 27 consecutive starts to close the career, plus 17 quarterback hurries.
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Rotational run-front lineman who earns snaps on effort and versatility.
Same long, heavy-handed base-end build with sub-package inside flex.
Practice-squad-caliber length who never adds a rush plan.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Denver kept him where the pick suggested he belonged: on the developmental shelf. Jones was inactive for most of his rookie year, dressed for three games — the Week 4 debut against Cincinnati, a December trip to Las Vegas and the January meeting with the Chargers — and played 33 defensive snaps, 28 of them as a pass rusher. The counting line is essentially empty: no tackles, one fumble recovery, three total pressures charted. On a 14-3 Broncos team with an established rotation of Zach Allen, D.J. Jones and Jonathon Cooper ahead of him, there was no path to snaps, and Denver made no attempt to force one.
Too early to grade, but the shape of the bet is already visible. Nothing about year one contradicted the scouting report — he is still a length-and-power run defender who needs a rush plan — and nothing advanced it either, because he barely played. The relevant question for year two is whether Jamar Cain can add the counter moves that never came at LSU. If they arrive, he is a rotational base end with sub-package inside value; if they do not, he is a roster body who tops out on early downs.
Data note: Official LSU career totals: 51 games, 29 starts, 27 consecutive starts to close the career, plus 17 quarterback hurries.