The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected LSU star linebacker Devin White with the No. 5 overall pick because they thought he would make an immediate impact and give the team a replacement for Lavonte David when he’s no longer the star. As is now apparent, neither of those things have happened.

David remains one of the best players in the league and one of the most underrated names of the last decade, while White’s game plummeted after a very promising start. He has since signed a one-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles to get back on track.

This move leaves David and KJ Britt, who started four times in his professional career, as the two starting linebackers. If Tampa wants to take full advantage of this window with Baker Mayfield as their starting quarterback, they might want to look at linebacker Ernest Jones of the Los Angeles Rams.

Jones has been given permission to seek a transfer in the final year of his contract. Tampa will likely have to trade him as he is expected to seek a new deal, but his play with the Rams was so impressive that Tampa Bay could snap him up and immediately fill one of their biggest holes.

One of the reasons the Rams’ defense, which was considered insufferable crap after the Super Bowl run, was actually pretty impressive (both with and without Aaron Donald) was Jones. Selected in the late third round of the 2021 draft, Jones has become a team captain, amassing 145 tackles and 4.5 sacks in 15 games last year.

Jones’ 82.1 PFF grade, ability to line up at several different positions, and excellent speed in the open field could make him everything White should be. David is still great, but Tampa Bay will never know exactly when the precipice will come.

Baltimore’s Roquan Smith, San Francisco’s Fred Warner and Chicago’s Tremaine Edmunds are the only linebackers making more than $18 million per year, while Buffalo’s Matt Milano is fourth at over $14 million. It looks like a new contract for Jones could be roughly in Milano’s price range.

Jones won’t change the entire defense, but when it comes to providing immediate and long-term improvement at linebacker, there are few better on the NFL landscape right now.