ENGLEWOOD — Sai’vion Jones waited for his turn as a rookie defensive lineman on a stacked Broncos defense.

The wait might be over.

Jones enters his second NFL season primed for a bigger role. The third-round draft pick from LSU has made significant physical and mental strides in a deep position room. There is also increased opportunity on the defensive line after John Franklin-Myers signed with the Titans in free agency.

“The competition is high. Honestly, I love it,” Jones told The Denver Gazette. “I feel like without competition, you get complacent. It’s just a reminder that the dude on the left, right, behind me and in front of me got the same amount of talent. It’s all about who will come out at the end. But we don’t look at each other like that. Of course, we all still help each other. But we know at the end of the day that it’s a competition.”

Jones appeared in just three regular-season games as a rookie. He played 33 defensive snaps and nine special teams snaps over that span. His most notable contribution? A fumble recovery in Week 18 against the Chargers.

Call it a humbling experience after Jones played 51 career LSU games with 11.5 sacks.

“In the beginning, as we went through the season, it was hard knowing I had to just sit back,” Jones said. “But honestly, sitting back and watching people like Zach Allen, ‘JFM,’ (Malcolm) Roach, Enyi (Uwazurike) and D.J. (Jones) … really opened my eyes.”

Sai’vion Jones earned the respect of veteran teammates behind the scenes.

“For any position, that year one to year two jump is massive. Because now you know what everything is. Not just on the field, but off the field. You have your routines and stuff like that,” Allen said. “This offseason, you can definitely tell (Jones) made a lot of progress both physically with his play and mentally understanding the playbook better. He’s in a really good spot.”

Jones did not hesitate when asked how he can break into the defensive line rotation in 2026.

“I think the next step for me is just to be more consistent,” Jones told The Denver Gazette. “It’s good to have flashes in practice here and there. But what I’m looking for are consistent flashes. I want those flashes to stay on.”

It appears there are three Broncos — Jordan Jackson, Uwazurike and Jones — in competition to replace Franklin-Myers as the “4i” starting defensive lineman.

Uwazurike has the inside track after playing all 17 games last year with 3.5 sacks and 39 total tackles. Jackson has also appeared in 22 career games with the Broncos. Yet it might be Jones with the highest ceiling at the position with unique physical gifts standing 6-foot-5 at 289 pounds.

“There’s no replacing ‘JFM,'” Jones said. “Not only me, but the whole ‘D-line’ as a whole has to step up in order to fill his shoes and be even better.”

Jones is enjoying Colorado life away from home on his NFL journey.

“I love it. It’s different. Living in Louisiana where it’s swamp and no mountains. It’s flat land and everything,” Jones said. “Coming out here, driving into the mountains, I went to Aspen a couple of weeks ago. I went to a natural hot spring. I freaking loved it man. It really brings that nature side out of me. I didn’t realize how much I love nature.”