Chiefs DT Chris Jones Lands in Top 40 of NFL Top 100 Players
The Kansas City Chiefs may have lost terrific talents such as safety Tyrann Mathieu and wide receiver Tyreek Hill during the offseason, but they still have some of the best players in today's game on the roster. A perfect example of that is defensive tackle Chris Jones, who was recently recognized on the 'NFL Top 100' list on NFL Network:
Checking in at No. 39 on this year's list, this is Jones's fourth year in a row being ranked amongst his peers as one of the 100 best players in the league. He lands just ahead of stars such as Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert and Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs, and he's right behind Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon and Arizona Cardinals wideout DeAndre Hopkins. Jones was slotted at 52nd and 36th in 2020 and 2019, respectively.
Last season, Jones played in 14 games and recorded 27 tackles, nine sacks and five passes broken up. He also logged 17 quarterback hits in the process, which was his lowest total since 2017. The three-time Pro Bowler and three-time Second-Team All-Pro played quite a bit of defensive end to begin the season but was then moved back to his more natural three-technique alignment and had more success to close out the year. He also battled early-season wrist issues.Â
Jones, long known as one of the best interior defensive linemen in all of football, is slated to join at least two more Chiefs on this year's 'NFL Top 100' list. Players 50-31 (the group Jones is in) are announced on Sunday afternoon, followed by Nos. 30-21 on Sunday night. The following Sunday, Aug. 28, is when the top 20 players in the league will be announced. It's a foregone conclusion that Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce will once again be included in that unit, giving the Chiefs three of the top 40 players — as voted by their peers — in the entire NFL.Â