Change in role for Dre'Mont Jones could help fix persistent issue for Seattle Seahawks defense

Jones was a big-ticket free agent acquisition by Seattle last offseason and was signed to play on the interior defensive line.

However, a season-ending injury to edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu and Seattle's trade for another interior defensive lineman in Leonard Williams led Jones to spend the majority of the his snaps lined up on the edge from Week 10 onwards.

The results were pretty impressive.

Jones had 24 of his 43 total pressures in the period between Week 10 and Week 18 and only had one game, which came in the season finale, in which he failed to record multiple pressures.

Those aren't mind-blowing numbers by any means, but what they point to is consistency. Despite some strong recent production for edge rushers Nwosu, Darrell Taylor and Boye Mafe, consistency is not something they have typically had at that position.

Putting Jones at edge would also allow the Seahawks to get their top pass rushers on the field at the same time more often. 

Seattle took defensive tackle Byron Murphy II in the first round of this year's draft and, by kicking Jones to the edge, the Seahawks can present opposing offenses with pass rush fronts that feature him, Murphy and Williams on a regular basis. With the underrated Nwosu, who had 9.5 sacks in 2022, the likely candidate to line up at the other outside linebacker spot on the Seahawks' 3-4 front, Jones playing the edge would figure to create more advantageous situations for the Seattle pass rush.

There were already signs that edge was the better position for Jones, and his success in that role could be maximized by Williams and Murphy forcing quarterbacks into his lap with interior pressure. Edge and the lack of consistent production was a persistent problem for the Seahawks under Carroll, a position switch for Jones may well provide an unexpected solution.