When people look back at this golden age of Chiefs football, there will be four big names associated with KC’s run of success between 2019 and 2025. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes will be the first person mentioned, followed by tight end Travis Kelce and head coach Andy Reid. The fourth name on that list will undoubtedly be defensive tackle Chris Jones.
At this point, Jones has established himself as one of the greatest Chiefs defenders of all time and has even given himself a shot at the Hall of Fame with his play and success on the field. However, the Chiefs’ lack of help along the defensive front is causing them to rely on Jones too heavily, and if they don’t do something about it soon, they could risk jeopardizing the later part of his career.
Chris Jones huge contract doesn’t mean he should never come off the field.
Jones turned 31 before the season started, and he is still under contract for three more seasons after this year, taking him through his age-34 season. That is getting up there in age in terms of pass-rushing defensive tackles.
Jones’ huge contract that made him one of the highest-paid non-quarterbacks in the league really ramps up next season, almost doubling his current cap hit at a whopping $44.85 million. His guaranteed money still on the deal also means that he’s basically uncuttable for a few more years as well. With that kind of financial investment locked in, you would think the Chiefs would want to protect their asset, but that hasn’t been the case so far this season or last year.
Through three games, Chris Jones ranks second in the NFL in snaps by an interior defensive lineman with 163 snaps. He’s played 85% of the Chiefs’ defensive snaps so far. If that percentage of snaps keeps up, it would be the highest rate of Jones’ career at age 31. Plus, it isn’t just his percentage but the total as well. He’s on pace to play over 920 snaps through 17 games. That would also be a career high, having previously topped 800 snaps only once before (in 2022). His average total snaps over his first nine seasons is 713.2, so he’s on pace to beat his average by over 200 snaps.
There simply isn’t any way a defensive tackle in his 30s is going to be able to keep up his health and efficiency if the Chiefs keep putting that kind of workload on him. His snap counts should be trending down as he gets older so that he can maintain some productivity, but the Chiefs are doing the exact opposite. Look at the past three seasons’ numbers for Jones in total snaps, percentage of defensive snaps, and pressure rate (percentage of pass-rush snaps where he got a quarterback pressure).
Chris Jones’ usage rates
- 2023 – age 29 – 741 snaps – 73% of defensive snaps – 15.5% pressure rate
- 2024 – age 30 – 771 snaps – 83% of defensive snaps – 13.6% pressure rate
- 2025 – age 31 – 101 snaps (on pace for 920) – 85% of defensive snaps – 10.9% pressure rate
Basically, the Chiefs’ reliance on Jones is going up as he gets older, and his productivity is going down. With KC on the hook for some massive cap hits in the next few years, this is asking for trouble. Unfortunately, the Chiefs don’t have a lot of choice right now if they want to muster any kind of pass rush. They just don’t trust their other defensive tackles. You can see it in their snap counts.
2025 Chiefs defensive tackle snap counts
- Chris Jones – 163
- Derrick Nnadi – 66
- Jerry Tillery – 52
- Omarr Norman-Lott – 38
- Marlon Tuipulotu – 3
So if you add up the total defensive snaps of Kansas City’s other four defensive tackles, you get 159 total snaps. So Chris Jones has literally out-snapped all the other defensive tackles on the roster combined. That is a problem. Then, when you mix in that KC’s defensive ends have combined for just two sacks (both by George Karlaftis) through three games, it’s easy to see why Steve Spagnuolo doesn’t want to take Jones off the field.
A lot of Chiefs fans have been discussing or shopping for possible running back trade targets or dreaming of a Tyreek Hill reunion, but Kansas City might be better served shopping for a defensive tackle with some pass-rush upside that could help keep Chris Jones healthy and fresh and allow him to be more dominant when he is on the field. Not only would that help them this season, but it would protect the long-term investment they made in Jones going forward.
Steve Spagnuolo has his work cut out for him as he tries to figure out how to stop Derrick Henry and get pressure on Lamar Jackson this week when the Baltimore Ravens come to town. His plan for both of those things will undoubtedly be built around Chris Jones, but he better find a way to trust and utilize more of KC’s other options up front or he could end up hurting his own defense and star player in the long run.
