Matt Calkins: Seahawks defense different after Ernest Jones trade, but is it better?

RENTON, Wash. — Mountains certainly did not move for the Seahawks on Wednesday. I’m not sure the needle did, either. There are blockbuster trades and straight-to-DVR trades, and this feels closer to the latter.

Feels is the operative word here, because you never know for sure. Sometimes a change in personnel can prompt a spike in performance for the team, just as a change in scenery can prompt a spike in performance for a player.

I’m just not sure this makes the Seahawks roster better so much as it makes it different.

On Wednesday it was announced that Seattle had traded linebacker Jerome Baker and a 2025 fourth-round draft pick for Titans linebacker Ernest Jones IV. The deal comes as the Seahawks sit 28th in the NFL in run defense, the team unable to slow any of its past four opponents on the ground.

Baker, meanwhile, has struggled with a hamstring injury that nagged him all offseason, forced him to come out of the Week 2 game vs. New England and sidelined him in the next two contests. The Seahawks (4-3) likely didn’t see the man on a one-year contract having much of an impact this season, so they went and got Jones … who ranked 71st of 150 linebackers this season, according to analytics site Pro Football Focus. (Baker, by the way, ranks 70th.)

It’s not that the 24-year-old hasn’t put up numbers in the past. Jones had 4 1/2 sacks for the Rams last season but was not so influential that L.A. wanted to extend his contract long-term. Instead, the team traded him to the Titans, where he tallied 29 solo tackles and two passes defended — but no sacks or take-aways.

In other words, he’s been fine.

This isn’t Quandre Diggs joining the Seahawks in the middle of 2019 while coming off a year in which he had three interceptions. It’s not defensive end Leonard Williams coming on midseason last year, or Pro Bowl left tackle Duane Brown joining in Week 9 of 2017.

Jones could be a mild upgrade, though. In this league of inches, that could lead to an extra win.

“He’s a guy that I think when you look at kind of all fronts coming from (Seahawks general manager) John (Schneider) and our personnel people, our coaches, our experience with them, a guy we’ve had respect for for a long time, just is a really good football player all the way around,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said of Jones. “I remember seeing him play in the Super Bowl is probably the first time he got on my map, and (I’m) just excited to get him here and get him rolling.”

Macdonald added that the Seahawks’ scheme is similar to what Jones had been playing in with Tennessee. He said he plans to play him at middle linebacker Sunday against the Bills.

It’s hard to say whether this will have any real impact against a 5-2 Buffalo team boasting one of the better quarterbacks in the league. I suppose we’ll see. Just as we’ll see if the Seahawks have more moves ahead.

It’s possible the trade for Jones was just a foreshock in what could be a notable quake before the Nov. 5 trade deadline. The Seahawks had $9.5 million in salary-cap space before Wednesday’s deal, and this move shouldn’t affect their financial flexibility. It just depends on what Schneider wants and/or has the ability to do.

Right now the Seahawks have the look of a middling team that can knock off high-quality opponents if it is playing its best on both sides of the ball. The Seahawks proved that on the road Sunday by beating a then-4-2 Falcons team 34-14.

Geno Smith has looked like a Pro Bowl quarterback for much of the season. When healthy, running back Kenneth Walker III has been among the league’s best at his position. And on Sunday the defense finally looked formidable by forcing three turnovers — an area in which the Seahawks had struggled.

Seattle is still a mysterious team, but it’s possible it’s one defensive piece from having a shot at the division title. Not sure Ernest Jones is it, but it would be very Seahawks-like to add another name in the coming weeks.

Until then, this slightly new-look Seahawks squad prepares for what might be the toughest opponent it has faced all season. A new face could be beneficial, but come game time, Seattle is going to need everyone.