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RENTON, WASHINGTON - JUNE 04: Ernest Jones #13 of the Seattle Seahawks works out during practice at Virginia Mason Athletic Center on June 04, 2026 in Renton, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

The Seattle Seahawks’ trade for Ernest Jones IV now looks like far more than a midseason patch job.

Jones was named the No. 97 player on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2026 list, giving the Seahawks linebacker another marker of leaguewide respect after a season in which he helped anchor one of the NFL’s best defenses. Seahawks.com announced Jones’ placement on June 23, noting that the annual list is voted on by NFL players.

For Seattle fans, the ranking matters because it confirms what became obvious during the Seahawks’ championship push: Jones is no longer just a useful linebacker in Mike Macdonald’s system. He has become one of the central pieces of the team’s identity.

Jones finished the 2025 season as one of Seattle’s most productive defenders. The Seahawks credited him with leading the team with 126 tackles and five interceptions while earning second-team All-Pro honors. The team also noted that he was the only NFL player with 100 tackles and five interceptions during Seattle’s Super Bowl LX-winning season.

That is the kind of production that turns a good roster move into a defining one.

Ernest Jones IV Has Become One of the Seahawks’ Best Values

Jones’ NFL Top 100 placement also adds another layer to one of Seattle’s most important 2025 offseason decisions.

The Seahawks re-signed Jones before he hit unrestricted free agency, keeping him in Seattle after a chaotic stretch in which he had been traded from the Los Angeles Rams to the Tennessee Titans and then from Tennessee to Seattle. NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported at the time that Jones’ deal was worth $33 million over three years with $15 million guaranteed.

For a Seahawks team with stars and future contract decisions across the roster, that balance is significant. Seattle did not just keep a starter. It kept a defensive communicator, a productive middle linebacker and a championship-season leader on a deal that still leaves room for the front office to build around him.

Seahawks’ Defensive Turnaround Runs Through Jones

Jones’ rise is also tied directly to the Seahawks’ defensive transformation under Macdonald.

Seattle acquired Jones during the 2024 season, and Seahawks.com noted he totaled 85 tackles in 10 games with the team that year after the trade. The team’s official roster page lists that Jones was traded to Seattle in October 2024 and re-signed in March 2025.

By 2025, he had become more than a productive tackler.

The Seahawks credited Jones with a franchise-record five interceptions for a linebacker and noted that he scored his first career touchdown on an 85-yard return during a Week 13 performance that earned him NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors.

That playmaking matters in Macdonald’s defense because the middle linebacker is not just cleaning up runs between the tackles. Jones has to communicate, process route combinations, fit the run, cover space and punish mistakes when quarterbacks try to force throws over the middle.

His five interceptions made that impact visible.

The Seahawks’ own release framed Jones as a major part of a defense that helped Seattle win 14 regular-season games and then Super Bowl LX. It also described him as one of the team’s most important leaders during the season.

That leadership component is not just soft-focus praise. It is part of why Seattle’s decision to keep Jones looks so important. Macdonald’s system needs a linebacker who can function as an on-field organizer. Jones has become that player.

Ernest Jones IV’s Ranking May Not Be the Last Seahawks Nod

Jones checking in at No. 97 may be only the beginning for Seattle on the NFL Top 100 list.

The Seahawks’ release noted that Jones “figures to be one of several deserving Seahawks” to make the list after Seattle finished as the NFC’s top seed and won the Super Bowl. That is a reasonable expectation given the way Seattle’s defense and skill-position talent shaped the 2025 season.

But Jones being the first Seahawks player highlighted is still meaningful.

He entered the league as a third-round pick by the Rams in 2021, became a standout in Los Angeles, was moved twice in 2024 and then found stability in Seattle. The Seahawks’ 2025 re-signing story included Jones saying he was excited to settle in Seattle after being traded twice, including the chance to stay in one place with his family.

A year later, he is a Super Bowl-winning defensive leader with All-Pro recognition and a spot on a player-voted NFL Top 100 list.