Kansas City Chiefs DT Chris Jones gets the respect he deserves despite his 2024 statistics taking a dip

From NFL.com: "Chris Jones has been a defensive stalwart and star for the Chiefs for the last nine years, playing a significant role in the team’s continued playoff success and multiple Super Bowl rings. With an active streak of six consecutive Pro Bowls and three straight first-team All-Pro nods, he’s widely regarded as one of, if not the best interior defensive lineman in the game, and the Chiefs paid him commensurately ahead of last season with a $158.75 million extension that’s almost $6 million more lucrative per year than the next highest player, per Over the Cap. At 31 years old and entering Year 10, Jones hasn’t appeared to miss a step, and should remain a fixture in the K.C. scene into his mid-30s. Jones recorded the second-most pressures (61) among defensive tackles this season, with 26 (most) coming in under 2.5 seconds. Jones averaged the quickest get off at his position (0.85 seconds) resulting in the fourth-quickest time to pressure (2.67 seconds) among defensive tackles with at least 15 pressures this season."

Jones is down six spots from the 2024 list, but that was to be expected with the dip his statistics took. Despite not posting his usual volume of numbers, Jones was as dominant as ever last season. No other defensive player faced as many double-teams, but he was still able to top his position in pass rush win rate.

Hopefully Jones gets more help from other Chiefs pass rushers in 2025 so he can get back to recording the type of stats we are accustomed to from him. K.C. will be leaning on two rookie defensive linemen in Omarr Norman-Lott and Ashton Gillotte, as well as veterans Charles Omenihu, George Karlaftis, and Mike Danna to help Jones out.