Jonah Elliss

5 sacks as a rookie, 2.5 through Year 2 — but the TFL/QB hit rate is the same.

On the surface, Elliss's sack number cratered from 5.0 → 2.5 between years. Look one column over and the pressure profile barely moved: 7 → 6 TFL, 6 → 5 QB hits. He's getting to the QB at nearly the same rate — the finishes just stopped landing on him.

For a Day 3 EDGE drafted by a Vance Joseph defense that already had Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper, that's still a contributing rotation piece in Year 2.

Through 2 seasons: 7.5 sacks, 13 TFL, 11 QB hits as a rotational rookie/sophomore EDGE.

Elliss has 7.5 career sacks before his 23rd birthday. The headline number is the pressure-without-snaps profile: 13 TFL and 11 QB hits across two years where he's been the 3rd or 4th EDGE in the rotation behind Bonitto and Cooper.

That's the part scouts liked at Utah — short-area twitch and bend that converts pressure to plays even when he's not the primary rusher. Denver's snap count for him will be the variable that decides if Year 3 looks like 5 sacks again or doubles to 10.

Forced his first career fumble in 2025 — strip-sack territory for a rusher whose bend is the calling card.

Elliss's 2025 line added a category he didn't touch as a rookie: 1 forced fumble. For an undersized speed rusher (6'2" / 248), the path to high-end EDGE value runs through the strip-sack — turning pressure into turnover instead of just pressure into a sack stat.

Combined with his 6 TFL, the 2025 line is closer to a disruption-per-snap profile than the raw sack number suggests.

5 rookie sacks matched what his father Luther Elliss did across his first two NFL seasons combined.

Jonah is the son of Luther Elliss, a 2-time Pro Bowler who played 10 NFL seasons (Lions, Broncos). The family ledger is now four NFL Ellisses (Luther + sons Christian, Kaden, Jonah), and Jonah's 5 sacks as a rookie matched what his father produced in his first two NFL seasons combined as an interior lineman.

The twist: father played DT, son plays EDGE — the route to the QB is shorter, and the rookie production reflects that.

First career sack came as a rookie — and he's already at 7.5 across 2 seasons in Denver's rotation.

Through age 22, Elliss has 7.5 career sacks, 13 TFL, 11 QB hits, and 3 pass deflections across 2 seasons. For a 3rd-round pick (No. 76 overall, 2024) playing behind two established starters, that's a usable contributing line — and the 2024 rookie 5-sack mark already cleared what most Day 3 EDGEs produce across their entire rookie contract.