Seahawks DE Dre’Mont Jones reflects on rookies, ‘Coach’ Michael Bennett

It’s funny, the Seattle Seahawks biggest offseason addition has been one of the quietest players in terms of news. In fact at practice last week, I heard a couple of fans says “man I forgot we signed him” and likewise.

But it’s a big deal that Dre’Mont Jones is here, and he’s been working hard and making plays.

He also gave a great interview on Tuesday, with remarks about players we don’t hear quite as often. His primary focal points: the rookies, and Michael Bennett, whom he envisions “being a coach one day.”

During his media availability, Jones called Bennett - who’s been assisting on field this week - a hall of famer. He was asked to clarify his comments regarding the freedom he feels in this scheme, and said that like Michael Bennett, he is working on having elite “play recognition” and “eye discipline,” allowing him to really get off the ball and get up field.

On the other side, Jones was notably reticent to give too much praise to the rookies. About his first-year cohorts on the line - Mike Morris, Cam Young and Derick Hall - Jones said:

I wish i could go on a tangent about each individual player. They all do different things really well. They definitely have promising futures, if they keep doing the right things. There are things that need to be cleaned up, they’re not perfect, but they’re doing things to let us know you have a chance in this league.

He was then asked about second-round pick Derick Hall, who’s been really impressive the past few practices. Jones again downplayed early hype:

His confidence is growing. And his play recognition is growing and growing. He has a lot of work to do though, I mean, I’m glad he’s doing on the field like he’s supposed to, but I’m not gonna give him too much pat on the back.

This is fine. I think Dre’Mont will be a good leader for the defense this year. He doesn’t need to try to be captain - Bobby Wagner and Quandre Diggs have that covered. But he’s clearly teachable, excited to be the best player he can be, and a solid veteran presence with perspective for some promising rookies.

He’s also been making quite a few plays out there, so watch out for the combination of he and some very motivated Uchenna Nwosu / Boye Mafe types to really make this defense take a jump over last year.