The Seattle Seahawks have completed seven of their nine organized team activities sessions as of Monday, June 9, and the team's defense is bursting with confidence. Entering the second season under defensive head coach Mike Macdonald, linebacker Ernest Jones IV believes the unit is set to turn a corner.
Jones, who Seattle traded for midseason in 2024 and re-signed to a three-year, $28.5 million contract this offseason, said he believes this year's defense is "going to be special."
"I'm excited," Jones said, per the team's official website. "I don't want to give too much because we've got to go put the work in. But, if the vision lives up to what I think, yeah, it's going to be something crazy ... I like us versus anything and anybody. That's how I'll leave it."
Second-year former fourth-round pick Tyrice Knight is expected to remain starting next to Jones in the middle of the Seattle defense. The defensive line is almost completely intact from last season led by Leonard Williams, Jarran Reed, Byron Murphy II and Johnathan Hankins. Seattle's secondary also has all of its impact starters from a year ago with the addition of safety Nick Emmanwori, among others.
The Seahawks' defense took a huge step in the second half of last season after Jones was added, Knight stepped into the starting lineup and Josh Jobe emerged as a quality third cornerback behind Riq Woolen and Devon Witherspoon. They got healthy during the bye week, made the necessary adjustments and looked like a completely different unit.
With a full offseason to build on, Jones believes their ceiling is a Super Bowl title. The team appears to be buying into that, with every player from the 90-man roster participating at some points during the voluntary OTA window.
"I think for this team, we're bought into the goal and the mission, and the goal is to put another banner up in here," Jones added. "I think everyone believes in that, and we're going to show up to work and do what we have to do to make sure we get it done."
After 2024, it's been 11 seasons since Seattle's Super Bowl XLVIII title at the end of the 2013 season. It took Pete Carroll four seasons with the Seahawks to help bring them their first-ever championship. Macdonald could put himself well ahead of the legendary Seattle coach if he led the franchise there in Year 2.
