Sean McVay likes what he's seen from Ernest Jones and Travin Howard

Sean McVay likes what he's seen from Ernest Jones and Travin Howard

The Rams haven't gotten great play from their linebackers since Cory Littleton left in free agency after the 2019 season, struggling to find consistency at the position last season. Troy Reeder, Micah Kiser and Kenny Young all played meaningful snaps, but none of…

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Sean McVay likes what he's seen from Ernest Jones and Travin Howard​

The Rams haven’t gotten great play from their linebackers since Cory Littleton left in free agency after the 2019 season, struggling to find consistency at the position last season. Troy Reeder, Micah Kiser and Kenny Young all played meaningful snaps, but none of them truly established themselves as high-end starters.

After selecting Ernest Jones in the third round, the Rams hope he can solve some of the issues they’ve had at that spot. It’s early, but Jones has impressed Sean McVay already in camp, just as he did in OTAs and minicamp.

“It’s exciting,” McVay said of Jones batting passes in practice Thursday. “I think anytime that you see good plays right now, that’s the beauty of being a head coach, you can be excited on both sides. But for Ernest, he’s a guy that’s an instinctual player. There’s a lot of information for these young guys to absorb, whether you’re on offense of defense, but I’ve been really pleased with his progression. (LBs coach) Chris Shula has done an excellent job with him. I think the more he feels comfortable, the more reps, the more that he can just kind of play fast and not worry about thinking so much. I think you’re starting to see that show itself out here.”

Jones isn’t the rangiest linebacker or the most athletic guy, which were some of his noted weaknesses out of South Carolina. However, he’s instinctual and always finds the ball, especially in the run game.

He still has to earn a starting job, which could be tough with the number of players the Rams have competing at inside linebacker. McVay noted the return of Travin Howard after he missed the 2020 season, calling it “big time.”

“I’ve been really pleased with him,” McVay said. “You felt so bad for him last year because he was doing so many good things. Really liked the look in his eye. He’s out here, he’s got a good bounce in his step. I think he’s really done a nice job of continuing to progress. As a whole, that group, you look at the experience. ‘T-Howard’ is doing a great job, I want him to stay healthy. You’ve got Micah Kiser, Troy Reeder played a lot of ball, really love what Kenny Young’s done. He’s got a great energy. The confidence that he gained from last year and all the success that he had. Ernest was asked about earlier, and we’re excited about him as well. A lot of good depth, these guys are positively pushing one another and it’s going to be exciting to see how it shakes out.”

There’s still more than a month to go until Week 1, but the Rams don’t lack options at linebacker. It’s just a matter of sorting through the best ones.

 

[sloramfan]

good news for this old fan...

i've been rooting hard for jones, he's like the little train that could, not super fast, but seemingly always there, making the tackle...

i remember back when ogletree was on the team, and i would rewatch games, how utterly disgusted i would be with AO... and sure enough, the next year he was gone... i bring that up because i believe this coaching staff sees talent, and evaluates without partiality...

if you're making plays, you're in... speed or no speed..

go rams

slo

 

[CGI_Ram]

Of the draft picks we need to step up and grab some snaps… Jones would be high on the desirable list.

 

[Soul Surfer]

Of the draft picks we need to step up and grab some snaps… Jones would be high on the desirable list.

If Jones and Howard can bring more of an impact from our inside linebackers, we have an excellent *chance* to surpass what we did on defense last year.

That would really take the pressure off of Stafford and the offense and allow them to get in the groove for a postseason run.

 

[Soul Surfer]

I don't make a lot of predictions but I think Ernest Jones will be the Jordan Fuller of this year.

(OK.... I actually do make a lot of predictions)

 

[CGI_Ram]

I don't make a lot of predictions but I think Ernest Jones will be the Jordan Fuller of this year.

(OK.... I actually do make a lot of predictions)

That would be huge.

 

[badnews]

Of the draft picks we need to step up and grab some snaps… Jones would be high on the desirable list.

Lucky for us, the Rams seemed to understand that in order to address the ILB position through the draft, they would need to find a player who: (A: Will quickly learn the playbook and know his assignments.
(B: Would have the strength/frame to play from day 1.
(C: He would need the most important trait for any ILB: Instincts.

If there is a position on this defense where eye-popping measurables and enticing athletic upside are considerably less important than having the right intangibles (instincts, toughness, leadership), it's at ILB.

That the Rams saw it that way and were able to identify and draft that player where they did is a credit to their scouting and evaluation.

Last year I was excited about getting Cam Akers for a lot of the same reasons that I'm excited about Ernest Jones. Because when it comes to RBs and ILBers, the 3 traits I value the most are instincts, instincts and instincts.

 

[bubbaramfan]

So far a TC, LB's are average at best in shells. Let's see how they do when pads come on today.

 

[Neil039]

I’ve posted this before, sure many will agree.

It’s time for the Rams to have a generational LB! It’s been a long time, I sure hope it happens soon.

 

[Merlin]

I'm surprised that they started out with Kiser in what sounded at least like a lead role out there. Just given how he and Reeder played last year. Both were up and down to be fair but between the two Reeder's film was better to me.

But either way this is about when Jones is ready to take the reins. The way the Rams talked him up tells us that. Figured he might need some time to settle in and learn the whole defense to the point where he can play fast. But what has really surprised me is him making plays in the passing game. Generally I would expect him to show well filling vs the run and the pass game is where that maturity in the scheme comes. So maybe he's a lot further along. Like maybe he's poised to really show something in these pad practices.

Got my fingers crossed here. Boy would that be nice.

 

[MauiRam]

I don't make a lot of predictions but I think Ernest Jones will be the Jordan Fuller of this year.

(OK.... I actually do make a lot of predictions)

Totally agree!

There's a linebacker from yesteryear Jones reminds me of. That guy wasn't the fastest guy on the field either, but oh did he have instincts! Jones is comparable in size and speed - the "instincts" remain to be seen. That linebacker had a pretty good year in 1985 ..