Jones wouldn't be talking about him or pay him this much attention if he didn't see him as a potential threat down the road. Which on his current trajectory, stylistically he very much will be.
He's the only guy in all of mma who would almost certainly out strike jones on the feet and that includes hw. He does everything Jon does but far more polished.
Deep down jones knows this too.
Now his wrestling and grappling has to come a long way to overcome what jones brings to the table but without a doubt I also see him as a threat down the line. Particularly as he will prob peak within a year or two and Jones may be slightly declining.
To me that's one of the more interesting style opponents jones has in mma at the moment, assuming he becomes champ and continues to evolve which is looking like a strong likelihood.
Not that anyone should sleep on Whittaker. I think he's outmatched on the feet but I wouldn't sleep on his wrestling, grappling and ability to mix it up and keep him guessing. Stylistically it's a good fight for Israel but it's really a coin flip. Whittaker is no joke. Depends how much his injuries affected him I suppose