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.
