Rams LB Ernest Jones Los Angeles' Most Underrated Player?

Los Angeles Rams linebacker Ernest Jones has been named the team's most underrated player as he enters his third NFL season

The Los Angeles Rams will be counting on third-year linebacker Ernest Jones in 2023. 

The Rams don't have much in the way of starting experience on defense, save for a couple of players. Obviously there's defensive lineman Aaron Donald, who has been dominating for nearly a decade. Then there's Jones, who only has 18 starts under his belt but should be a leader for a young L.A. defense. 

Jones has already settled into a nice role with the defense. He recorded 61 tackles while playing 43 percent of defensive snaps as a rookie, then 114 tackles while playing 66 percent of snaps in his second season. With linebacker Bobby Wagner returning to the Seattle Seahawks, Jones will likely carry a much larger role and emerge as a defensive leader.

As he prepares to take on this bigger role, Jones has been attracting some hype from the team and media alike. On Monday, Touchdown Wire named Jones as the Rams' most underrated player heading into the new season, calling him a "secret superstar."

"The Rams are clearly in a rebuilding phase, which leaves them a bit shy on underrated players," Touchdown Wire writes. "But Jones, selected in the third round of the 2021 draft out of South Carolina, qualifies. He can close to the quarterback as a blitzer from two levels (Jones had three sacks and 12 quarterback pressures in his rookie season), he’s effective in coverage (check out the interception of Derek Carr below), and he’s improved as a run defender.

"As the Rams look to overhaul their defense, at least they have Jones as an ascending player as they start to fill things in around him."

With Jones still being very young at just 23 years old, he figures to be a key piece of the defense moving forward. A larger role is coming for Jones, and he seems to be up to the challenge.

---

You can follow Jonathan Alfano on Twitter @JonAlfano_News

Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Rams? Click Here

Want to join in on the discussion? Click here to become a member of the Ram Digest message board community today!

Follow Ram Digest on Twitter and Facebook.

Want even more L.A. Rams news? Check out the SI.com team page here.