The Hall of Fame door is open for Chris Jones (if he finishes the job)

For many, Chris Jones' enshrinement five years after his career is over is an inevitability. He has contributed to the Kansas City Chiefs' dynasty as their best and longest tenured defensive player. Since Aaron Donald's retirement, the ascension to the number one defensive tackle spot was stopped by no one, especially being that his most impactful moments come in the postseason.

To this day, Brock Purdy wakes in a cold sweat with Jones' arms flailing at him in Super Bowl LVIII. Josh Allen has similar nightmares as does every offensive lineman in the AFC. Though those specific moments are at the forefront of Chiefs fans' memories, Jones has only tallied 3.5 sacks in his playoff career, 10 less than former teammate Frank Clark.

Chris Jones is on a Hall of Fame path if he finishes what he started

Pro Football Reference's Hall of Fame monitor keeps track of players statistics and accomplishments dating back to 1955. 100 is the average score for any Hall of Fame player. Currently, Jones' score sits at 66.55, a far cry from the average DT score of 102. Some players from yesteryear like Steve McMichael and Chiefs legend Curley Culp have much lower scores than Jones, but the likes of Donald and Bob Lilly have made the barrier of entry much higher.

Jones needs to score about 40-ish points on the Hall of Fame monitor to cross the average score. He only needs about 11.5 sacks to get to the imaginary average defensive tackle's score. A routine 2025 for the dominant lineman would likely put him in that territory. Jones also has yet to bring home his very own Defensive Player of the Year, so if he nabs one of those, his Hall of Fame case would be cemented.

Similarly to Eli Manning's Hall of Fame case, Jones' singular impact in the most memorable games of all time may emphasize his case. The defensive tackle's influence on the entire roster is only matched by Travis Kelce's and supplanted by only Patrick Mahomes'. The way NFL teams as a whole have crafted their defensive lines have changed due in part to Chris Jones and how phenomenal he has been. How does a player like that not belong in Canton?