After watching Ernest Jones IV pull in an interception and force a fumble in the divisional-round playoff win over San Francisco, an awareness struck: This guy’s performance has been absolutely Wagnerian.
It might be a long time before any Seahawks linebacker can compare to former star Bobby Wagner over the long haul, given the nine Pro Bowl seasons he registered in Seattle.
But in terms of one season of destruction, disruption and havoc perpetrated upon opposing offenses, Jones has been a worthy heir to Wagner at middle linebacker, and a key factor in the Seahawks’ rise to dominance.
He was recently voted second-team All-Pro after leading the team in tackles (126) and interceptions – an uncommon achievement for a middle linebacker.
Add his leadership on the field and in the locker room, and Jones’ acquisition from Tennessee in the middle of last season (for a fourth-round pick and linebacker Jerome Baker) appears to have been a case of Grand Theft Linebacker.
The Hawks had been near the bottom of the league in run defense, and Jones quickly helped lift those stats into the top half of the league, registering 15 tackles in his first start as a Seahawk against Buffalo in October 2024.
His arrival and emergence marked a pivot point for the Seahawks defense last season, while it was, in a large part, his emotional leadership that helped them finish strong this season.
Jones and his teammates play the Rams on Sunday for the NFC conference title and a trip to the Super Bowl.
It was Jones’ voice after a loss to the Rams in mid-November that provided an example of team unity that helped the Seahawks fashion their current eight-game win streak.
Quarterback Sam Darnold had thrown four interceptions against the Rams in that 21-19 loss in LA.
After the game, Darnold took the blame for the loss.
Jones would have none of it.
“Sam’s had us in every … game,” Jones said afterward. “So, for him to sit there and say, ‘Oh it’s my fault,’ no, it’s not. … It’s football, man, he’s our quarterback, we’ve got his back.”
Locker rooms can splinter after that kind of loss, and that can doom promising seasons. Such strong and immediate support by a respected team leader is what it takes to keep the team together, and become stronger as a by-product.
Jones’ voice resonates across the locker room because of the strength of his play, and because it’s obvious his words come straight from the heart.
Jones later said: “I love each and every guy in that locker room; I’d put my life on the line for them, that’s no exaggeration.”
Looking back, head coach Mike Macdonald saw the loss to the Rams, and Jones’ vocal support, as a turning point.
“I think that game was a game where it really came into focus about what type of team we could be,” Macdonald said. “We have a special group that was resilient as heck, and had each other’s backs and were going to stick up for each other and fight like heck for 60 minutes and really become the team we wanted to be.”
After that four-interception performance, Darnold has thrown just four interceptions in the subsequent eight games.
“Obviously, (what) he said about me was great,” Darnold said. “It’s great to hear that, especially coming from E.J., one of the leaders on this team. Everyone has each other’s back in that locker room, and that’s one of the best parts about this team.”
Veteran defensive tackle Jarran Reed has called Jones “the quarterback of our defense.” It fits. He makes the defensive calls, and communicates to all 10 others on that side of the ball.
“For me, it means a lot,” Jones said. “I pride myself in being that guy in the middle that keeps everything running. I like to be the first to the fight, making plays in the middle.”
Making plays in the middle? All the time. Sideline to sideline. Always getting near the ball. Sometimes even in coverage in the deep-middle zone.
Jones was recognized as the NFC Defensive Player of the Week after the Hawks’ 26-0 shutout of the Vikings. He had 12 tackles and two interceptions, including one returned for an 85-yard touchdown.
The team released a video from the locker room after that game, when Macdonald gave Jones the game ball. Jones was very emotional. How could he not be? In the past two years, he had been traded away twice (by the Rams and Titans), signed a contract extension in the spring, and lost his father to cancer in the summer. He then missed almost three games with a knee injury.
He spoke of his love for his teammates, and stressed a renewed and deeper commitment to his faith.
Veteran receiver Cooper Kupp, an Eastern Washington University product, this fall was quoted on the team’s website regarding Jones: “(He’s) one of the best leaders I’ve ever been around … to be able to go through all the adversity, the traumas, but continue to hold fast and hold strong and overcome, and be the same Ernest … over and over and over again, it’s an impressive thing.”
Jones said leadership traits were instilled by his mother, “who didn’t like followers.”
“The way I was brought up, (it’s) the person that matters, and that’s what I’m teaching my son,” Jones said. “When you leave this earth, what type of person were you? Can people count on you? Can people trust you? Did you stand by your word? That’s what I lean on.”
Ernest Jones IV has proved he is exactly the player – and person – the Seahawks can lean upon.