Titans linebacker is playing like long-term foundational piece on defense

The 2024 season hasn't started the way Tennessee Titans fans wanted, but there have been plenty of bright spots over the first two weeks.

Calvin Ridley has looked worth the big contract, Harold Landry is racking up sacks in a hurry, and T'Vondre Sweat and Jeffery Simmons look like the real deal in the middle of the line of scrimmage.

However, the biggest (positive) surprise through the first two weeks of the season is how dominant the linebackers look now that Ernest Jones IV is on the team. It wasn't that long ago when off-ball linebacker was expected to be the weakest unit on the Titans roster. Fast forward two weeks and one and could argue that Kenneth Murray and Jones have been the identity of the defense.

Murray deserves credit, but Jones has been the story here for the Titans. Acquired in a trade with the Los Angeles Rams on August 27, it took him one regular-season week to overtake Jack Gibbens for a starting role. In Jones' first week as a starter, he racked up nine tackles and two tackles for loss behind the line of scrimmage.

Jones plays with the rare ability to attack full-tilt without getting off-balance and missing tackles. That was on full display on Sunday when he took down Jets running back Breece Hall in a phone booth and shrugged off offensive linemen to drag down the ball carrier in the backfield.

In addition to his obvious effectiveness against the run, Pro Football Focus noted that Jones was the eighth-best linebacker in coverage in his first start, and had the second-most pass stops (3). He did that by trusting his eyes and analyzing what the offense was trying to do as soon as the ball was snapped.

Right now, the Titans defense is wreaking havoc without blitzing very often, and a big part of that is because the linebackers (especially Jones) are quick to read-and-react against runs and short passes.

Considering that the Titans defense has allowed the fewest yards in the NFL this season, that formula is clearly working. While there are still weaknesses on this defense (EDGEs not named Harold Landry), the interior push of the defensive tackles and the hair-on-fire style of play from the linebackers make it hard for offenses to get anything done between the numbers.

Simmons is 27 years old, Murray is 25, Jones is 24, and Sweat is 23. The Titans already have their cornerbacks locked in for the foreseeable future, and it wouldn't surprise me if Jones gets an extension before the year is up to make sure those four foundational pieces stay together through 2025.