Seattle Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV has come a long way. This is especially true as he has clearly been better than many draft sites thought he would.
In the run-up to the 2021 NFL draft, the scouting reports on Jones were pretty consistent. “Lacks elite quickness and change of pace.” That was from Draft Buzz.
Bleacher Report said “no singular trait that causes mismatch issues.”
And noting his lack of speed, Last Word on Sports speculated that he was “exclusively a run defender in an era where pass defense has never been more important.”
Seattle Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV reaches elite status in his fifth NFL season
To be fair, all three of the above-mentioned scouts noted how smart and active the South Carolina linebacker was against the run. They had plenty of positive things to say about his effort and productivity. The consensus was that Ernest Jones was a solid day three pick in the draft.
The Los Angeles Rams obviously saw something they liked and took him at the end of day two, in the third round. Now in his fifth year, the Seahawks’ linebacker was just chosen as second-team All-Pro, one of the highest honors the NFL bestows. Not bad for a player who was often described as “a little stiff” by college scouts.
EJIV’s path to stardom was not a straight line. He was a three-star recruit coming out of high school and then bounced around the NFL in a tumultuous 2024 season. There may be someone out there who knows the answer to this. I don’t.
Has a player ever been chosen as an All-Pro less than two years after being traded twice? That’s what happened to Jones in 2024.
Despite setting a Rams’ single-season tackles record in 2023, Jones was traded to the Tennessee Titans just before the 2024 season. Then, after two months in Nashville, he was on the move again, to Mike Macdonald and the Seahawks.
Both departures seem to have been related to money. Jones was in his contract year, and neither the Rams nor the Titans appeared to have felt he was really good enough to merit a big new contract. The Rams had a bunch of other young linebackers they figured could step into his shoes. The Titans wanted draft capital for a rebuild.
Just as in college, Ernest Jones performed at a high level, but the experts still doubted him.
Mike Macdonald did not. The Seahawks coach recognized early on that his defense – especially his linebackers – were not playing the way he wanted. He jettisoned both day-one starters and replaced them with rookie Tyrice Knight and the newly-acquired Jones. It took a few games for Jones to get accustomed to his new surroundings, but after the mid-season bye, the dividends became apparent.
In the second half of the 2024 season, Seattle’s defense gave up almost a touchdown less-per-game than it had in the first nine weeks.
The speed with which Jones picked up one of the most complex defenses in the league was stunning. But once he had a full offseason to absorb the intricacies of a Mike Macdonald scheme, both Ernest Jones and the rest of the Seahawks defense took off.
With Jones in the middle, Seattle led the league in points allowed. Yards-per-rush? First. Yards-per-pass-attempt? Second. Sixth in turnovers and pressure percentage despite rarely blitzing.
In terms of individual numbers, Ernest Jones has seen a bit of a dip from the last two seasons. His total tackles were down to a mere 126 after averaging better than 140 the previous two seasons. That can be attributed to the extraordinary depth of the Seahawks’ defense, where everyone can make plays.
Despite the minor dip, Jones still led one of the best defenses in the league in tackles by a wide margin.
And he was rewarded long before his latest honor. While the Rams and Titans didn’t see fit to offer a proper extension, John Schneider had no problem doing so. The Seahawks’ GM inked his star linebacker to a three-year deal worth 28.5 million dollars in the 2025 offseason. He is now in Seattle at least through 2027.
Jones was the ninth linebacker chosen in the 2021 draft. The eight players chosen ahead of him have had two 100-tackle seasons over the past five years. Jones has reached that mark for four consecutive years. No one is going to argue he is better than the first linebacker chosen that year – Micah Parsons – but he has now clearly surpassed Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah as the second-best in his class.
Perhaps the most gratifying thing about Ernest Jones’ 2025 season – I mean, apart from the tremendous team success and All-Pro honors – is this.
Aside from leading his team in tackles, Ernest Jones IV – the prospect who everyone knew could play the run, but who was too slow and stiff to be an effective every-down linebacker in the pros – also led his team in interceptions. In fact, he finished second in the entire NFL. He even had his first career pick-six.
Now, after five years and with an All-Pro designation on his resume, it looks like the NFL has finally stopped undervaluing Ernest Jones IV.