If you look at things on the surface, it might seem that way. But when you delve a little bit into it, without even watching tape, you see the difference. That being, JJones was playing at an all-star caliber in 23, splitting reps with Wynton McManis. That's when he started 8 games, put up 49 tackles, 13 teams tackles, 7 sacks, and a pick. The injury derailed him the following year. Conversely, Tony Jones was an on-again, off-again teams guy who rotated a bit on bad defences and got a shot here when Biggie went down.
The difference in play is night and day. Tony is very good at scraping to the ball and making tackles in the box. He's not good at coverage. Jonathon Jones is good at scraping to the ball, has exceptional range, and is as effective pass rushing as dropping back in cover.
Best roster usage for today would be Tony plays Mac in running downs, Jonathon plays Wil. On passing downs, we sub Griffin for Tony, and slide Jonathon into the middle. Building a better team going forward would probably mean Ayers gets snaps over Jones. I don't think Ayers is far behind Jones currently, tbh. I wouldn't expect him to be as reliable immediately, but I also don't think he can progress just by covering kicks.
Jonathon Jones is our best Lber. Kyrie is our worst. Tony is situational.