As the Denver Broncos prepare to select a third-round pick in April’s NFL draft, they are ecstatic to see Jonah Ellis’ name still on the roster.
Denver head coach Sean Payton said earlier this season that the team had a second-round grade in Utah’s pass rush. They believe in his ability to be a first-year contributor, a need that was heightened when Drew Sanders, the third-round pick from the previous year, was injured in the spring.
There’s just one problem. The Atlanta Falcons selected two picks ahead of the Broncos. Their general manager is Terry Fontenot, who previously spent almost all of Payton’s 16 seasons as head coach in the New Orleans Saints’ front office. Atlanta has a linebacker on its roster named Kaden Elliss, Jonah’s brother and a 2019 seventh-round pick of Payton, Fontenot and the Saints.
“I turned to George (Denver Nuggets general manager Payton) and said, ‘Terry is going to choose his brother; I know that,” Payton said this week. “They picked another player and then we were obviously happy with the choice we made.
The Falcons selected Washington outside linebacker Bralen Trice with the 74th pick, who suffered a season-ending ACL injury in the preseason. Two picks later, the Broncos selected Jonah Ellis.
Payton’s phone immediately rang with a text message. It’s Kaden.
“I’m not going to tell you what it said,” Payton said with a laugh, “but I will say that exposure to Kaden really helped us understand the football mentality as it relates to the next draft.”
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Caden Ellis also didn’t reveal many details about the exchange.
“(I) just said, ‘You made a good play,'” the Falcons linebacker said. “Everything else has been said, but that’s what it is. I’m glad he’s in Denver, along with Sean (and) a great staff. We have family out west, so it’s a good place to be.
Two weeks after the draft, the NFL schedule was released and the date for the Ellis family reunion was set. Kaden and Joiner will face off for the first time in the NFL on Sunday when the Falcons visit the Broncos as the two teams try to move closer to the playoffs. Both play defense — Kaden leads the Falcons with 88 tackles as the starting inside linebacker; Jonah plays a big role in the pass-rushing rotation as an outside linebacker and has two sacks — —so there won’t be any direct conflict between the two brothers.
unless…
“We might find a way to sneak in a special teams game,” Carden said.
Atlanta linebacker Kaden Elliss leads the Falcons with 88 tackles in 10 games. (Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
There are five members of the Ellis family, and the brothers are two of those who have made it to the NFL. Christian Ellis is a linebacker for the New England Patriots and Noah Ellis is a defensive tackle who spent the past two seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles and is now a free agent. Along with Kaden and Jonah, they are believed to be the only four brothers to play in the NFL. Joiner said Friday he wouldn’t be surprised to see University of Utah defensive end Elijah Ellis join his family’s NFL fraternity in the next few years.
“I can’t help but recognize Ellis,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said this week. “They have a million.”
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Their father, Luther Elliss, played 10 seasons in the league as a defensive tackle. The first nine picks came from the Detroit Lions, who drafted him in the first round in 1995 after an All-American college career at the University of Utah. He spent his final season with the Broncos in 2004, a fitting end to his career for someone who grew up in Mancos, Colorado. He served in the role during the team’s 2015 Super Bowl season.
The 1pm slate was actually pretty interesting because I just saw Elliss 55 trying to sack Dak, then I saw Elliss 52 trying to cover Justice Hill, and then I saw Elliss 53 step up and tackle Tony Pollard.
— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) November 3, 2024
During Ellis’ lone season with the Broncos, it was common to see the family’s full-size van parked in front of the team’s facility. Luther and his wife Rebecca had 12 children, seven of whom were adopted. For such a large family, competition is inevitable. Sometimes the fiercest competition is over the dinner table.
“We would make up games. We would play every game, every sport under the sun,” Carden said. “Sometimes it’s football. Sometimes it’s football or random games that we make up.
Rudd’s career can serve as a road map. Most of the Ellis boys didn’t start playing tackle until eighth grade — Kaden also played some seasons in fifth and seventh grade — but a love for the sport that became integral to their collective upbringing quickly developed. has grown.
“My dad was obviously able to guide what we were doing,” Carden said. “So not only work hard but work smart and show us where we need to improve and what we need to do if we want to take that step.”
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Sunday’s matchup between the Broncos and Falcons is filled with familiar connections. Falcons safety Justin Simmons spent his first eight years in Denver after being drafted with a third-round pick in 2016. . He and his wife, Taron Simmons, have deep roots in the Denver community through their work with the Justin Simmons Foundation, where the safety was a three-time nominee for the team’s Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee. He said this week he will be a “Bronco for life,” but his focus Sunday will be helping the Falcons get their seventh win.
“It’s one thing to play against him for years, but it’s going to be fun to get live ammunition,” Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton said. “I jokingly told him, ‘Hey, man, if you see me walking through, just remember we’re friends.'”
Meanwhile, Falcons offensive coordinator Zach Robinson grew up in Denver. He is a Broncos fan and his family has season tickets. He later became a standout football player at Chatfield High School in suburban Littleton, Colorado.
“Of course, (my) family was excited when I saw we were going to Denver,” Robinson said. “The atmosphere is hard to beat. Probably There and KC are the top two in the NFL. Looking forward to going home.
These returns will be special, but the NFL holds reunion games and homecomings every week. A duel between brothers, on their father’s home court, with over 30 family members present? Not so much.
“I played with one of my brothers in college, but it’s obviously different,” said Broncos tight end Adam Trautman, whose locker room is next to Denver’s where Jonah is a former Cardiff. Teammates in New Orleans. “My brother and I were always competitive, and I’m sure they treated it that way.”
Broncos rookie Jonah Elliss (52 years old) has 21 tackles and 2 sacks for the Denver Nuggets this season. (C. Morgan Engel/Getty Images)
The Ellis brothers aren’t taking Sunday’s opportunity for granted. But at the end of the day, this is a never-ending competition. Every year, usually over the Fourth of July weekend, families gather together for the Ellis Games, a multi-day event with rotating events ranging from cornhole to board games. The event included a trophy engraved with the winner’s name, which was located at Luther and Rebecca’s home. Including spouses and close family friends, the game may have more than three dozen participants.
Trash talking is an inherent part of the landscape. Jonah shared this week that the fact that he and his fiancée dominate pickleball games annoys his brother.
“I think the most we’ve scored in a game in 11 games is three or four points,” Jonah said. “We’re good. We killed (Kaden). He didn’t like it.
Still, most people seem to agree that Kaden set the pace in the world of chirpy music. So it’s no surprise that the Falcons linebacker, who has already beaten Christian head-to-head in the NFL when they meet him in 2022, had parting words before the game against Joiner.
“I’m 1-0,” he said of the matchup with Ellis. “We’re going to make it 2-0 this week.”
(Top photos of Kaden and Jonah Ellis:
Todd Kirkland and Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
