RENTON, Wash. — Over the primary half of 2023, Dre’Mont Jones was virtually solely a defensive deal with, lining up inside on the overwhelming majority of his snaps.
Over the second half, he was predominantly a defensive finish.
And by the point his first season with the Seattle Seahawks was within the books, Jones was one thing of an enigma, a extremely proficient participant whose influence did not fairly match up with the hype that accompanied his arrival as one of many largest free agent acquisitions in franchise historical past.
Enter Mike Macdonald.
The Seahawks’ new head coach is not putting in a copy-and-paste model of the scheme he coordinated in Baltimore during the last two seasons, however he’s bringing with him components that made the Ravens’ protection maybe the hardest within the NFL to resolve. One of many methods during which they plan to maintain opposing offenses guessing and put their defenders in advantageous positions is by always shifting them round up entrance.
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That is why versatility has been the buzzword of the offseason amongst Seahawks defensive linemen, coaches and even their personnel division.
“One factor that I might emphasize is versatility,” assistant basic supervisor Nolan Teasley mentioned earlier than the draft when requested concerning the change in defensive type from former coach Pete Carroll to Macdonald.
“I believe they in all probability touched on it by retaining [Leonard Williams]. His means to play up and down the road of scrimmage relying on the entrance and personnel. I do know a participant that we’re actually enthusiastic about, that they are enthusiastic about shifting round is Dre’Mont Jones due to his means off the sting, his means to hurry wherever from the three-technique to the six, perhaps even out to the 9.”
Williams, who re-signed in March after arriving by way of commerce final October, mentioned he is been working at 5 different positions along with his normal spot as a three-technique defensive deal with.
“I believe it advantages us in creating matchups the place you are placing the defensive participant in one of the best place and then you definately’re additionally complicated the offense,” Williams mentioned throughout minicamp earlier this month.
“It makes it tougher for the offense to check us figuring out that they could see Dre’Mont at a five-technique on movie, after which after we line up and play towards them, he is in all probability going to be enjoying zero- or three-technique. So it is tougher for an offense to scheme towards one particular participant as a result of we transfer round a lot.”
Can that assist Macdonald and defensive coordinator Aden Durde unlock the 27-year-old Jones?
His debut season with the Seahawks was extra stable than spectacular, a minimum of relative to expectations that got here along with his massive contract.
The three-year, $51.53 million deal Jones signed with Seattle final March simply made him the highest-paid free agent acquisition of the Carroll-John Schneider period. His $17.18 million common far surpassed the $9.53 million common of the deal the Seahawks gave exterior linebacker Uchenna Nwosu 12 months earlier, which was beforehand essentially the most that regime had spent on one other group’s free agent.
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Jones produced career-highs in tackles (49) and QB hits (12) whereas enjoying in all 17 video games, and one in every of his 4.5 sacks got here within the last minute of a Christmas Eve sport towards the Tennessee Titans to assist the Seahawks shut out a three-point win that saved their playoff hopes alive.
However that was Jones’ lowest sack whole since his 2019 rookie season with the Denver Broncos, when he posted 3.5 (he recorded 6.5, 5.5 and 6.5 over the following three years). His 5 tackles for loss had been additionally his fewest since 2019.
One thought contained in the Virginia Mason Athletic Heart is that Seahawks coaches did not use Jones in a means that maximized his strengths. In keeping with ESPN Stats and Data, he performed 329 snaps at defensive deal with and solely 45 at defensive finish over the primary 9 video games. Then after Nwosu went down with a torn pectoral in October and Williams arrived by way of commerce eight days later, Jones moved exterior, enjoying 302 snaps at finish and 61 at deal with over the ultimate eight video games.
So whereas the Seahawks did make the most of Jones’ versatility final season, they did not achieve this on a play-by-play foundation like their new employees intends to in 2024.
And whereas their precise plans for particular person gamers are nonetheless being sorted out, indicators level to the sting doubtlessly being one thing of a house base for Jones. That may make sense given how well-stocked Seattle is at defensive deal with with Williams, Jarran Reed, first-round choose Byron Murphy II and veteran addition Johnathan Hankins, amongst others.
Over the offseason, Jones’ private coach shared a video of Jones dropping into protection throughout an on-field exercise. Throughout minicamp, he took half in place drills with the skin linebackers. That was after he confirmed up weighing round 265-270 kilos, down from his listed weight of 281.
Throughout an 11-on-11 interval within the second minicamp follow, Jones lined up on the sting reverse Williams with Seattle’s protection in dime, after which a number of performs later he was inside subsequent to Williams in a nickel package deal.
“I believe his skillset lends to attempting to play just a little matchup ball with him or setting one other man up,” Macdonald mentioned. “He can do lots of issues. We have talked about it, however we’re actually enthusiastic about Dre’Mont.”
Macdonald credited Jones for being in “nice form” and for staying up to the mark with Seattle’s defensive set up regardless of being away from the ability throughout voluntary Organized Crew Actions; Jones posted on Instagram earlier this month that he just lately turned a father for the second time.
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“He knew lots of the stuff we had been doing although he hadn’t been within the constructing,” Macdonald mentioned.
Earlier than departing for the pre-training camp summer season break, the Seahawks transformed $9.875 million of Jones’ $11 million base wage for 2024 right into a signing bonus and added a pair of void years onto the top of his deal with a view to create $7.4 million in wage cap area. That is a typical restructure finished solely to provide Seattle some wanted respiratory room towards the spending restrict, as no new cash was added.
The larger change for Jones will probably be along with his increasing position alongside Seattle’s defensive position.
“When you’ve gotten guys that may do a number of issues, play completely different gaps within the run sport and rush at completely different ranges within the go sport and you’ll have extra massive guys, it simply opens up extra personnel teams, extra appears to be like you possibly can generate,” Macdonald mentioned. “Total, it is good for us. … We’ll type of reassess how the spring has been, reassess our plan going into camp, after which as camp goes, we’re going see the way it evolves all through camp. I believe you need to have that angle. In case you simply cookie cutter it … I believe you restrict your self on how far you possibly can take your group.”
