Broncos draft Utah’s Jonah Elliss drafted in 3rd round

DETROIT (ABC4 Sports) – Jonah Elliss is following in his father’s and brothers’ footsteps into the NFL.

The Utah edge rusher was selected in the third round of the NFL Draft Friday by the Denver Broncos. Elliss was the 76th overall pick in the draft.

Jonah Elliss ready to continue NFL family legacy

Elliss led the entire nation in sacks per game last season, recording 12 sacks in just nine games played.

“I really just had a burst of confidence,” Elliss said after being drafted. “I put in a lot of work during the offseason to get better at pass rush. I’m obviously not perfect, but that’s something that I put a lot of time and effort into. Being able to produce the results that I had was honestly a huge blessing.”

During his three-year career, Elliss totaled 78 tackles, 23 tackles for a loss, 16 sacks, and 3 forced fumbles. This past season, he totaled 37 tackles, 16 tackles for a loss, 12 sacks, and 1 forced fumble.

His father Luther, who was Jonah’s defensive line coach at Utah, was a first round pick, the 20th overall selection, in the 1995 NFL Draft. Jonah and Elliss are the first father/son tandem from Utah drafted by the NFL.

Elliss is the first defensive lineman from the Utes drafted since 2020, the highest drafted since 2013 and the ninth defensive lineman taken in the Kyle Whittingham era. Elliss is now the sixth player in program history drafted by Denver.

Cole Bishop drafted in second round by Buffalo

Jonah’s brother Kaden was drafted by Broncos head coach Sean Payton when he was with the New Orleans Saints in 2019. Kaden is now with the Atlanta Falcons, while Jonah’s two other brothers are also in the league. Christian Elliss plays for the New England Patriots, while Noah is with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Luther Elliss played for the Broncos in 2004. He also served as the team chaplain after he retired.

“I do remember when we moved out to Colorado (in 2015),” Jonah said. “I spent a year there. It was really awesome just to see my dad start to get back into football. Even though he was just the chaplain at the time, you could see that his love for the sport really just lights him up and gets him excited to go to work and stuff. So, it was awesome seeing him do that, and I’m really excited to come down where he was.”

Elliss is the second Utah player taken so far in the 2024 NFL Draft, along with safety Cole Bishop, who was drafted in the second round by Buffalo.

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