Veteran NFL coach gives Chris Jones a label he won't like after he loses his top spot in ESPN's latest rankings
Chris Jones is considered by many around the NFL to be the best interior defensive lineman and ESPN's yearly Top-10 rankings backed that up in 2024.It's not the case in 2025, however, as New York Giants star defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence now owns the top spot. One veteran coach pointed out the likely catalyst for […]
Chris Jones is considered by many around the NFL to be the best interior defensive lineman and ESPN's yearly Top-10 rankings backed that up in 2024.
It's not the case in 2025, however, as New York Giants star defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence now owns the top spot. One veteran coach pointed out the likely catalyst for Jones' fall and it's not something he, nor any other player, wants to be labeled as at any point in their NFL career.
Conversely, one veteran NFL coach called him "increasingly one-dimensional."
"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. "The best at that position crash the game no matter what." – Jeremy Fowler, ESPN
It's an interesting claim and it honestly comes off as nit-picking to an extent. Overall, Jones was pretty solid against the run in 2024. Per Pro Football Focus, his 6.9% stop rate tied for 20th out of 54 qualifying interior linemen with at least 224 run defense snaps during the regular season and his average tackle depth of 2.1 yards was also good for 20th.
What's most impressive, however, is the fact he didn't miss a single tackle. The only other player to do that on this list was Bobby Brown of the Los Angeles Rams. If you're into grades, Jones' grade of 64.3 against the run placed him at No. 15.
The only metric where Jones is below-average is his overall tackle production, but as A to Z Sports' Nick Roesch points out, the Chiefs' future Hall of Famer was constantly double-teamed (regardless of the play being ran) and didn't have the same kind of help he's had over the last few years:
On the surface it may have seemed like there were times Jones didn't show up much during the course of the season, but when you dig deeper it's easy to realize that isn't the case. Per Pro Football Focus and ESPN, Jones led the NFL in double-team rate. The fact that he was still able to top his position in pass rush win rate despite that is pretty amazing. Jones' supporting cast, or lack thereof, must also be taken into account. The Chiefs went from ranking second in the NFL in sacks in 2023 with 57 to 18th in 2024 with just 39.
Both starting defensive ends, George Karlaftis and Mike Danna, regressed their sack totals by a combined 5.5 from the year before. Jones also played without Charles Omenihu for the most of the 2024 season, and Omenihu wasn't the same caliber of player when he returned. Injuries in the secondary also put more pressure on Jones. In 2023 Chiefs defensive backs accounted for 9 sacks, but only 3.5 in 2024 as defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo was unable to utilize them as blitzers as often. If Jones can get at least enough help to where he doesn't have to face so many double-teams, his sack numbers will return to what we're used to.
This could ultimately be a good thing for Jones, though. We all know how much players use even the smallest slights as fuel for motivation and I'm sure this checks the boxes when it comes to fitting that context.
Jones is a scary matchup already, but an extra-motivated Jones is obviously scarier and could easily put him back atop this list, next year, if it plays out the way it could.