Outside of Aaron Donald, the Los Angeles Rams don’t have many experienced starters on the defensive side of the ball this year. Jalen Ramsey and Bobby Wagner are both gone, as are Leonard Floyd, Greg Gaines and A’Shawn Robinson. One player who could become more of a household name in 2023 is Ernest Jones, the third-year linebacker out of South Carolina.
Jones has already played a key role on defense for Los Angeles in his first two seasons and now that Wagner is gone from the linebacker spot, Jones’ playing time will increase, as will his leadership responsibilities.
That will likely lead to more people outside Los Angeles knowing Jones’ name, especially if he continues to improve as he has throughout his young career so far. Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire highlighted every team’s most underrated player and he picked Jones for the Rams, calling him a “secret superstar.”
The Rams are clearly in a rebuilding phase, which leaves them a bit shy on underrated players. But Jones, selected in the third round of the 2021 draft out of South Carolina, qualifies. He can close to the quarterback as a blitzer from two levels (Jones had three sacks and 12 quarterback pressures in his rookie season), he’s effective in coverage (check out the interception of Derek Carr below), and he’s improved as a run defender.
As the Rams look to overhaul their defense, at least they have Jones as an ascending player as they start to fill things in around him.
Jones played 43% of the snaps as a rookie in 2022 and 66% last year alongside Wagner in the middle of the defense. His snap share could rise as high as 99% this season now that he’s expected to be the defensive signal caller and the primary inside linebacker.
He could make the third-year leap that so many other players do, which is exactly what the Rams need from him. And although Jones isn’t in a contract year, he can begin to make his case for a long-term extension in 2023 with a breakout season.
If he can put up 114 tackles and one interception while only playing two-thirds of the defensive snaps, it’ll be fun to see what he can do as a true full-time player.
