And that has allowed him to make more of an impact.
"He's a stud," Dolphins interim coach Dan Campbell said. "You talk about a guy that's doing everything right. He's a team guy, he works hard. He makes plays."
Jones' 83 tackles leads the team this season. He's on pace to record over 100 tackles for the second time in his six-year career.
He also has two sacks and three interceptions, two of which he returned for a touchdown in victories, and the third was the game-sealing play against the Eagles.
"He's obviously playing at a high level," defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo said a few weeks ago about Jones, who he coached for four seasons. "Nobody has worked harder to get there than him. He's a passionate guy, he's a football guy. ... He plays with so much energy and so much passion."
Jones isn't shy about proclaiming that he's the best safety in the NFL. He believes he takes a back seat to nobody in the league, and his performance the past two seasons backs that up.
Through 81 career games Jones has made 452 tackles, pulled down 13 interceptions and recorded 8.5 sacks. That's elite-level production for a safety.
Compare that to Troy Polamalu's first 81 games with the Pittsburgh Steelers, where the potential Hall of Fame safety had 399 tackles, 13 interceptions and seven sacks, and it shows that Jones' performance is on par with the eight-time Pro Bowler, who by this point in his career had been named to five Pro Bowl.
