Entering his age-31 season, is Chiefs DT Chris Jones still the best in the business?
Over the years, the Kansas City Chiefs‘ defense has improved from laughing stock to one of the most reliable units in football. When the chips are down, there aren’t many groups to be trusted more than Steve Spagnuolo’s.
Defensive tackle Chris Jones has been at the forefront for all of Spagnuolo’s tenure. If not for Aaron Donald, he’d quite easily be the best interior defensive lineman of his time. Donald’s retirement put Jones in a class all by himself last season. Unfortunately, the NFL doesn’t seem to believe that’s the case anymore.
As he does every year, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler polled league executives, scouts and coaches for their top 10 players at each position. July 8 saw the defensive tackle results go public. In the reveal, Jones lost his top ranking to New York Giants star Dexter Lawrence. Jones occupies the No. 2 spot for 2025, which is both a testament to his dominance but also a question of how good he can remain into his 30s.
One of the contributing factors in Jones’ year-over-year fall was run defense. Fowler reveals that the Chiefs’ star tackle was dubbed “increasingly one-dimensional” by an opposing coach.
“Best DTs in the league take over the run and pass, and there were moments where you didn’t notice [Jones] much,” the coach said, per Fowler. “The best at that position crash the game no matter what.”
Jones’ elite pass rush ability has always been a blessing and a curse. While it allows him to choose his matchups and impact the game in a greater way, it comes at a cost. On run downs, he can freelance too much or appear burnt out. After logging 17 and 13 tackles for loss in 2022 and 2023, that number fell to 9 last season. Advanced stats don’t love Jones’ run defense, either. According to Pro Football Focus, his 64.3 run defense grade ranked 38th among all interior linemen in the sport. His 22 “stops” slotted in at 36th.
Still, the 64.3 mark served as an improvement over Jones’ 59.5 grade in 2023. Those 22 stops made for one more than the year prior. Lawrence, to his credit, has posted a run defense grade of 81.9 or better dating back to 2022 while remaining a great pass rusher. His 9 sacks last season trumped Jones’ 5. Lawrence played three fewer games and logged 219 fewer snaps, too.
