When you put on the defensive tape from the Kansas City Chiefs' 2022 season, it's impossible to miss All-Pro defensive lineman Chris Jones.

The dude was everywhere, as last year was Jones' best season as a pro. He matched his career-high in sacks (15.5), in QB hits (29), combined tackles (44) and was just two TFLs (17) from tying his career-high there, as well. He also earned his first-ever first-team All-Pro selection and a fourth-straight Pro Bowl nod.

Without Jones, there's zero chance the Chiefs defense finishes with the 55.0 sacks it recorded last year, which was good for second-best in the NFL. There's also zero chance the team finishes tied for the second-best adjusted sack rate, which is Football Outsiders' useful metric that takes more into account than simply sacking the quarterback.

Jones isn't just the best player on the Chiefs defense, either. He's one of the best defenders in the entire NFL.

And he's going to get paid as much. Very, very soon.

Jones will be 29-years-old when the 2023 season starts, so he still has a couple of  prime years left and just several good years left, in general. One could even say he's getting better: Jones' total pressures have gone up every single year since 2019 (which includes a career-best 77 in 2022) and his yearly sack numbers have increased since 2020. 

Jones had one of his best seasons as a pro in 2022, registering 15.5 sacks and 22.5 disrupted dropbacks (both top-five numbers). And his pass rush win rate of 21.0% ranked No. 2 in the NFL among defensive tackles behind Aaron Donald. Jones is a premier player, and interior defenders who can rush the passer get paid big-time money. – ESPN's Matt Bowen

All of this puts Jones in line for a big pay day. It's just a matter of "when" and not "if". 

Some would argue now is the best time. And it is. For starters, the Chiefs have a little more than $5.1 million in cap room, per Over The Cap. And, Jones registers an individual cap hit of $28,291,668 in 2023. $19.5 million of that is tied up in base salary, which means a present-day extension would allow the Chiefs to convert all but $1.165 million of that into a signing bonus and subsequently drop the cap hit to as low as $12 million – depending on contract structure, of course.

The Chiefs likely won't structure the extension to where it drops all the way to $12 million, but they'll realistically be able to get it down to $16-$17 million, which still saves more than $10 million in 2023.

Another reason for a present-day extension is Jones, himself. If he continues his development and has another career year then it's really going to cost the Chiefs in 2024. The market is only going to continue to go up and the recent deals for guys like Javon Hargrave, Daron Payne, Dre'Mont Jones, and Zach Allen are plenty of evidence for that. Right now, Spotrac currently has Jones' market value at $30 million per year. That's not going to happen. No one is getting paid Aaron Donald money. But, that definitely puts Jones in line to make $25-$27 million per year and it could get damn close enough to $30 million if the Chiefs wait until next year.

Jones has said in the past that money isn't the end-all-be-all when it comes to contracts and he recently tweeted that he won't play for another franchise. However, we all know how negotiations can go and there's certainly a world in which Jones leaves KC for another team in 2024.

You never want to rush into these decisions, but this one is easy. Jones is a premier player coming off a career year and the market for top players at his position is an ever-increasing one that ranks among the top-paid positions in the NFL. 

And, the Chiefs get to put some money back in their pockets. 

There's literally zero downside to any of that. It won't be a surprise if Jones has a new deal by the time the draft rolls around.