Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones. Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

NFL futures: The case for Chris Jones winning Defensive Player of the Year

By Griffin Carroll | Last updated 8/11/23

As we write this, Chris Jones is holding out of Chiefs camp as he looks for a new contract with Kansas City. For the sake of this exercise, we'll go ahead and assume that Jones and the Chiefs work out a deal. KC cannot afford to lose this man's services, as we're about to get to. It may be safer to wait until confirmation that Jones is back before placing a bet here; the odds aren't going anywhere.

Chris Jones: +2500 to win DPOY (FanDuel)

Aaron Donald successfully put to bed any stigma around a defensive tackle's ability to win this award, and Jones has been the second-best DT in the NFL since he moved inside in 2019. Jones has perhaps his best season yet, finishing the year with 15.5 sacks and tacking on two more during Kansas City's Super Bowl run.

Jones holding out for a new deal is because he knows he's worth it. The Chiefs defense needs this man in the middle of their line, especially when you consider the resources they've been pouring into their edge-rusher situation through the draft.

Last year, Jones ranked first among all defensive tackles in a variety of key categories. Rather than list them out without credit, we'll go ahead and just h/t to Mina Kimes for pulling the work for us:

Where Chris Jones ranked amongst DTs last year:

1st in snaps
1st in pressures
1st in pass rush win rate
1st in wins vs double teams
1st in sacks created vs double teams

Pay the man

AFC West Preview pod w/ @acosta32_jp: https://t.co/25po4Tj9rF pic.twitter.com/pdZL3GFJPI
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) July 27, 2023

Few defensive players are impacting the game like Jones, and his production is not limited to just the DT position. Over the past three seasons, only TJ Watt has pressured the passer more than Jones' 124 QB pressures. Should Jones maintain these pressure rates and advanced statistic dominance, plus keeping up his sack-rate, he's seeming like an intriguing choice in this market.

There's also a narrative to consider here, in the form of a player holding out for a new deal, getting it done, and then showing just why he did what he did. Should Jones secure a new contract and pile up anothjer strong year in his age-29 season, why can't he take home DPOY by year's end? We're liking the value and the player here if you want to mix it up a bit deeper down the odds board.

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