The Seattle Seahawks and many others know Ernest Jones IV is elite
He had earned second-team All-Pro honors, led a Super Bowl-winning defense and produced five interceptions in 15 regular-season games.
Seattle also had committed to him with a reported three-year, $33 million contract.
Pro Football Focus still found room for a sharp objection.
PFF ranked Jones No. 24 among NFL linebackers entering the 2026 season, writing that his “bad coverage has held back his grading profile.”
The placement left the Seahawks’ defensive signal-caller behind 23 players despite the most decorated season of his career.
PFF Points to Long-Running Coverage Concern
GettySEATTLE, WASHINGTON – DECEMBER 14: Tyler Warren #84 of the Indianapolis Colts is brought down by Ernest Jones IV #13 of the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field on December 14, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
PFF acknowledged that Jones is “regularly considered one of the game’s best linebackers by fans,” but argued that his recent metrics have fallen short of that reputation.
The outlet pointed to a 46.2 coverage grade since 2024, which ranked 30th among 37 qualifying linebackers. Jones has also finished below a 64.0 overall grade in four of his five NFL seasons.
His 2023 season with the Los Angeles Rams remains the exception.
Jones earned a 78.8 overall grade that year while setting a Rams franchise record with 145 tackles and adding a career-high 4.5 sacks.
PFF gave Jones credit for one trait that has followed him across three teams. His 7.5% career missed-tackle rate reflects the reliability Seattle wanted in the middle of Mike Macdonald’s defense.
Coverage presents a more complicated viewpoint.
Five interceptions can make a linebacker look comfortable in space, especially when one becomes an 85-yard touchdown. But PFF’s grade suggests there were enough difficult snaps between those takeaways to lower the full-season evaluation.
The awards measured his impact on a championship defense, as the ranking weighed a longer record and gave preference to balanced play against the run and pass.
Jones IV Has an All-Pro Counterargument
GettySEATTLE, WASHINGTON – JANUARY 17: Ernest Jones IV #13 of the Seattle Seahawks celebrates an interception during the third quarter against the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Divisional Playoff game at Lumen Field on January 17, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
Seattle’s evidence begins with what happened after the football was snapped.
The Seahawks credited Jones with a team-high 126 tackles in 2025, his fourth consecutive season with at least 100. He became the NFL’s only player to reach 100 tackles and five interceptions, with the interception total being a franchise record for a linebacker.
Jones also delivered when Seattle’s season reached its final stage, leading the Seahawks with 11 tackles in their Super Bowl LX victory.
Those results followed the franchise’s decision to make him part of its foundation.
Seattle re-signed Jones in March 2025 on a reported three-year, $33 million agreement with $15 million guaranteed following his aquisition from Tennessee midway through the previous season.
Jones has since described the defense as operating with greater calm and recognition after returning nearly every starter from the league’s best defense
“It’s more like problem solving now,” Jones said while discussing the group’s offseason development under Macdonald.
Jones is the voice in the middle, responsible for setting the front and helping teammates adjust when an offense presents something unexpected.
PFF’s ranking doesn’t wipe out what Jones accomplished.
It does place a target on the area evaluators are unwilling to overlook.
Nevertheless, an All-Pro selection proved Jones can control games and create defining moments.
Improving the snaps between those moments could make No. 24 look far too low by the time the next rankings arrive.
Seahawks’ $33 Million All-Pro Dealt ‘Bad Coverage’ Criticism Ahead of 2026 Season