If the 2018 season showed us anything, it was just how important Deion Jones is to the Falcons’ defense.

In 2017, Jones and the rest of the Falcons linebackers combined to allow a passer rating of just 92.4 on throws into their coverage, and 32.8% of those targets resulted in either a forced incompletion or a defensive stop.

With Jones out in 2018, the Falcons’ linebackers allowed a passer rating of 124.3, and only 25.0% of their targets resulted in a forced incompletion or a defensive stop. There is no question that Jones is one of the league’s best coverage linebackers, and his ability to buoy this defense shouldn’t be overlooked.