Ernest Jones sends defiant message to NFL over doubting the Seattle Seahawks

As they say, history does not repeat but it does often rhyme. On that note, this Seattle Seahawks defense is different than the Legion of Boom. They don't have a legendary shutdown cornerback or a free safety whose best comp might be Yoda. They don't have a locker room full of wild personalities and alpha dogs.

However, these Seahawks do have some things in common with the famous LOB defenses, which will be the standard for every good Seattle defense to come from now until forever. The most obvious similarity is that both units play for eachother - and are determined to make the outside world sit up and notice.

Now that they have claimed the NFC West crown and the No. 1 seed in the NFC, it's an appropriate time to crow - especially after an offseason where nearly every expert on the planet expected this team to fall flat on their faces. Here's what middle linebacker Ernest Jones had to say after demolishing a red-hot 49ers offense last night.

Ernest Jones on Seahawks defense

“They been calling us pretenders all year. We gonna show you.” Seahawks LB Ernest Jones on the NFC top seed’s unfinished business. pic.twitter.com/o9oaiu9TUS
— Steve Wyche (@wyche89) January 4, 2026

The 2024 mid-season trade that brought Jones over from the Tennessee Titans was one of the key moves in putting his elite group together. Before he arrived, this was a good but not great defense that was struggling against the run and too often were out of sync as a cohesive unit.

Adding Jones to the mix changed all of that overnight, and they have been performing at or very near to a top-five level ever since.

There were still a couple of acquisitions that were needed to complete the picture, and general manager John Schneider struck gold filling both. First, he signed former Dallas Cowboys star DeMarcus Lawrence, who was supposed to be washed up. Instead, Lawrence has been arguably the most-impactful defensive free agent signing inthe league this year.

The last piece of the puzzle was another lethal and versatile defender who could play the slot and generally terrorize offenses from a number of different alignments. Schneider found that piece in the second round of the draft with Nick Emmanwori, who has a strong case to win Defensive Rookie of the Year.

The Seahawks also got strong performances down the stretch from the two defenders they considered dealing at the trade deadline, with both Boye Mafe and Riq Woolen making massive plays against the Niners in Week 18.

Keeping together a unit this talented is not going to be easy, but Schneider should do everything in his power to keep the key pieces as much of it as possible.

Feb 25, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider speaks during the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Ernest Jones on Seahawks defense

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