The latest news on Kansas City Chiefs DT Chris Jones struck a tone of optimism that the two sides will be able to agree upon a long-term deal.

We all know how that went last year, but the team has until March 13, 2024, at 4:00 p.m. ET to make it happen. In the meantime, we're going to prepare fans for an undesirable situation, which would be trying to find a replacement for Jones in the 2024 NFL draft. 

You can't exactly measure the intangibles to compare, but you can measure athletic performances at the combine. Our own Travis May has created the A to Z Sports Athletic Composite, tracking data from 2000 to the latest 2024 NFL Scouting Combine. He's created unique speed, agility, burst, and BMI scores, which all contribute to the composite score.

A total of four players from the 2024 NFL draft class compare athletically in their composite score to Jones, but some of them compare more closely than others in their speed score, agility score, burst score, and body mass index percentiles. 

Player	Athletic Composite %	Speed Score %	Burst Score %	Agility Score%	BMI%
LSU DT Maason Smith	47.2%	59.1%	42.9%	29.0%	59.0%
Mississippi State DT Jaden Crumedy	46.5%	65.1%	28.2%	28.7%	62.4%
Duke DT DeWayne Carter	45.8%	60.5%	49.9%	11.2%	80.1%
Iowa DT Logan Lee	43.2%	21.6%	59.0%	82.0%	35.1%
Mississippi State DT Chris Jones	40.4%	58.2%	9.0%	42.9%	57.3%

Raw Number Comparisons:

LSU's Maason Smith: 6-foot-5, 306 pounds 

Hand: 8.5in

Arm: 35in

40: 5.01s

10: 1.75s

Vert: 31in

Broad: 108in

3-Cone: 4.69s

Shuttle:  7.62s

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Mississippi State's Jaden Crumedy: 6-foot-4, 301 pounds

Hand: 10.5in

Arm: 33in

40: 4.97s

10: 1.69s

Vert: 29.5in

Broad: 105in

3-Cone: N/A

Shuttle: 4.66s

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Duke's DeWayne Carter: 6-foot-2, 302 pounds

Hand: 10.25in

Arm: 33in

40: 4.99s

10: 1.72s

Vert: 32in

Broad: 109in

3-Cone: 7.96s

Shuttle: 4.75s

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Iowa's Logan Lee: 6-foot-5, 281 pounds

Hand: 10.25in

Arm: 32.25in

40: 5.05s

10: 1.77s

Vert: 31.5in

Broad: 114in

3-Cone: 7.16s

Shuttle: 4.37s

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Mississippi State's Chris Jones (2016): 6-foot-6, 310 pounds

Hand: 10.75in 

Arm: 34.5in

40: 5.03s

10: 1.7s

Vert: 24.5in

Broad: 106in

3-Cone: 7.44s

Shuttle: 4.62s

Bench: 26

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What does it all mean for the Chiefs and Chris Jones?

You'd much rather have a proven commodity like Jones if you're the Chiefs. However, if they need to pivot because of his contract demands, they can certainly find athletes who compare in this draft class. Will they be Jones at the next level? That's something that you can't say for certain. Smith, Crumedy, Carter, and Lee all have their strengths and weaknesses heading into the next level. They at least have the athletic canvas to give themselves a chance to get on Jones' level in the NFL. 

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