It took a pair of trades in 2024 for Ernest Jones IV to find his home, but after settling in in Seattle following a midseason trade, the middle linebacker helped the Seahawks defense turn a corner midway through the team's first season under head coach Mike Macdonald.
In 2025, Jones helped lead the NFL's best defense, a unit that helped the Seahawks go on a dominant run to win 14 regular-season games before eventually winning Super Bowl LX. Jones, who led the team with 126 tackles and five interceptions, earned second-team All-Pro honors for his play last season, and now he has added another accolade that helps cement him as one of the league's top players, making the NFL Top 100 Players list, checking in at No. 97 on the list.
Jones, who came into the league as a third-round pick of the Rams in 2021, emerged as a young standout on Los Angeles' defense before a surprise trade to Tennessee prior to his fourth season in the league. With the Titans struggling early in the 2024 season, Jones found himself being traded again, this time to Seattle. Jones has thrived in Seattle ever since, and signed a multi-year extension with the Seahawks following that 2024 campaign, making Seattle his long-term home.
And Jones was not just one of Seattle's top playmakers in 2025, he was also one of the team's most important leaders. That was never more evident than in Week 11 last season when Jones was there on the field after multiple Sam Darnold interceptions to help pick up his quarterback's spirits after those turnovers. And he was there in a postgame press conference, passionately defending his quarterback while using some attention-grabbing language. That game and what took place immediately after became something of a galvanizing event for the Seahawks, with Jones at the center of it, and it’s no coincidence that the Seahawks did not lose another game following that close loss in Los Angeles, stringing together 10 straight wins to close out their championship season, including six wins by double-digit margins, six of which saw Seattle's opponent limited to 13 or fewer points.
"I've talked about Ernest before, about how much respect I have for him," said Seahawks receiver Cooper Kupp, who was Jones' teammate for three seasons in Los Angeles. "When he got to L.A., it was so early on for a rookie to come in and have a demeanor about him that you just knew that this is someone you have respect for, because of the way he goes about his business, because of the way that he handles himself, because of the way that he speaks and is able to communicate. It was really special. I was like, this is a guy that comes in at middle linebacker that's going to be an elite football player. Because as a middle linebacker, being able to demonstrate it, being able to be the guy that's not just telling you what you should do, but also to be able to model it for guys, and call guys up to a standard, that's such a special trait.
"To know that's who he is, then having to go through what he went through in the last couple of years, the adversity of all of that, and being able to maintain himself, not to lose himself, it is very special. He's one of those guys that if you're looking for someone to look up to and see what it looks like to go through tough times and be able to handle it with otherworldly grace, Ernest is that guy."
Jones figures to be one of several deserving Seahawks to make the NFL Top 100, which is voted on by NFL players, considering that the 2025 team was the NFC's top seed, won the Super Bowl by beating three teams in the postseason that had12 or more regular-season wins, and posted a plus-246 point differential, postseason included, that was the best by a Super Bowl champion this century. The NFL Top 100 will be revealed on X throughout the summer, with two players revealed each weekday until August 21 before the top 10 is counted down from Monday, August 24 through Friday, September 4.
Check out the best photos of Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV throughout the 2025 season.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) at the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) at the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the New Orleans Saints in Week 3.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the New Orleans Saints in Week 3.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) at the Arizona Cardinals in Week 4.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) at the Arizona Cardinals in Week 4.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) at the Arizona Cardinals in Week 4.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) at the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 6.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) at the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 6.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) at the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 6.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) at the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 6.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) at the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 6.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the Houston Texans in Week 7.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the Houston Texans in Week 7.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the Houston Texans in Week 7.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the Houston Texans in Week 7.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the Houston Texans in Week 7.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the Houston Texans in Week 7.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the Houston Texans in Week 7.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) at the Washington Commanders in Week 9.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) at the Los Angeles Rams in Week 11.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) at the Los Angeles Rams in Week 11.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the Minnesota Vikings in Week 13.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the Minnesota Vikings in Week 13.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the Minnesota Vikings in Week 13.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the Minnesota Vikings in Week 13.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the Minnesota Vikings in Week 13.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the Minnesota Vikings in Week 13.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the Minnesota Vikings in Week 13.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the Minnesota Vikings in Week 13.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the Minnesota Vikings in Week 13.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the Minnesota Vikings in Week 13.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the Minnesota Vikings in Week 13.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the Minnesota Vikings in Week 13.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the Minnesota Vikings in Week 13.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the Minnesota Vikings in Week 13.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the Minnesota Vikings in Week 13.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the Minnesota Vikings in Week 13.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the Minnesota Vikings in Week 13.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the Minnesota Vikings in Week 13.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the Minnesota Vikings in Week 13.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the Minnesota Vikings in Week 13.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the Minnesota Vikings in Week 13.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) vs. the Minnesota Vikings in Week 13.
