Can Ernest Jones be an impact player and leader in the Rams defense?

Rams linebacker Ernest Jones remains an underrated piece of the defense. Can he be the impact player they need?

The Los Angeles Rams will be looking to fill several voids on the defense that were left by Aaron Donald after he retired in the offseason. While they will certainly miss the sacks and opportunities he opened up for other players, one of the main things that they will miss is his veteran leadership.

Throughout OTAs and training camp, the Rams will be looking for the new leader of the defense, especially as they also transition to a new defensive coordinator. Heading into his fourth year and coming off of a breakout season, it’s very like that player will be linebacker Ernest Jones. General manager Les Snead said after the season,

“I think he’s someone obviously who is a very important part of that defense for many reasons. Definitely the leader of the defense.”

Jones will be going into his fourth year and second year as a captain on the defense. Following a season in which he sat in the shadows behind Bobby Wagner, the former South Carolina Gamecock set the franchise record in tackles in a season with 145. While Pro Football Focus isn’t the end-all-be-all, his PFF grade on defense jumped nearly 20 points from a 63.6 in 2022 to 82.1 last season.

On a defense that lacked a consistent pass rush on the edge, Jones became a critical piece of the Rams pass rush plan. With the use of simulated pressures, former defensive coordinator Raheem Morris incorporated Jones in the pass rush over 130 times last season and for good. reason. There were a lot of complaints about how Morris misused players in Los Angeles. That was not the case with Jones who ranked third among linebackers with 133 pass rush snaps. Jones led all linebackers with 33 pressures and his 19.5 percent win percentage ranked second. To say the least, Jones became one of the best blitzing linebackers in the NFL.

However, it was more than just his pass rush ability that took a step forward. During his rookie season, Jones had a knack for making impact plays. With the Rams trailing 3-0 on Monday Night Football in a crucial matchup against the Arizona Cardinals in 2021, Jones intercepted Kyler Murray in the end zone. What could have been 10-0 ended with the Rams ahead 7-3. It was a turning point in the road to the Super Bowl.

That continued into last season. With the Rams leading the Seattle Seahawks 17-16 and Geno Smith driving into field goal, the defense needed to make a play. On a first-and-10 from the 39 yard line, the Seahawks called a simple draw play to try and get a few yards closer for a game-winning field goal. Instead of a four or five yard gain, Jones stopped Zach Charbonnet for two yards. Jason Myers missed a 55-yard field goal which sparked the Rams late-season surge.

Jones did the same thing later in the season against the New York Giants. This time, it was a tackle for loss on Saquon Barkley that resulted in a missed field goal by Mason Crosby.

The Draft Network’s Damian Parson gave Jones his due in a column earlier this week. Here’s what Parson had to say,

“Jones has the talent, numbers, and film deserving of more media recognition…we know linebackers are devalued until you don’t have an impactful one, which hurts your defense entirely. Jones is a good definition of an impact linebacker…He is a terror at the line of scrimmage in simulated pressure packages…Jones can do multiple things for the Rams’ defense and is an impact player on the second level.”

Linebacker was considered by many to be one of the Rams’ biggest needs this offseason and last. However, Jones has been right there the entire time. That’s not to say that the Rams didn’t need an upgrade next to Jones given that player is currently Christian Rozeboom. However, taking one in the second or third round never made sense given Jones’ level in 2023.

Giving Jones a pairing that would help him in coverage would have been beneficial, but some of his struggles in coverage were also overblown. Among linebackers with at least 50 percent of their teams coverage snaps, Jones’ 90.3 passer rating allowed ranked 11th. He also had four pass breakups on just 50 targets which was more than Fred Warner’s three on 70 targets.

Without Donald on the defense, the Rams will need someone that can step up and make an impact play when needed. When Donald retired, he told Jones, “This is your defense now”. It certainly is as the young defensive core will look to Jones to lead that group into the next era.