South Carolina Football: Ranking the greatest Gamecock hidden gems in NFL Draft history

South Carolina Football's Greatest NFL Draft Hidden Gems:
No. 4 Linebacker Ernest Jones

The most underrated player in the NFL today is linebacker Ernest Jones (Round 3, Pick 103; Los Angeles Rams; 2021 NFL Draft). Jones was an afterthought when he committed to the South Carolina football program back in the class of 2018, but he became an All-SEC performer. He was overlooked when he was drafted outside the top-100 in the 2021 NFL Draft, but now, he is one of the best linebackers in football, even if many don't realize it.

Despite being a rookie, Jones earned his way into a starting job with Rams by the time they played the Bengals in the Super Bowl after the 2021 campaign. Had it not been for an all-time performance from teammate Cooper Kupp, Jones might have won the Super Bowl MVP.

He's only gotten better since then as he easily broke the Rams' franchise record for single-season tackles this past year even though he missed two games. Jones was the biggest defensive Pro Bowl snub in the league in 2023, but he received some All-Pro votes (he fell short because several EDGE players were voted in as linebackers).

At just 24 years old, Ernest Jones has a lot of football ahead of him, and he seems poised to challenge Tom Addison for the title of best Gamecock linebacker ever to play in the NFL. A 3rd round pick yielding Ernest Jones was a dream come true scenario for the Rams.