Will Chris Jones be the next great Chiefs pass rusher?

As Tamba Hali gets older and Dee Ford establishes himself, will Chris Jones become the next great pass rusher waiting in the wings?

The Kansas City Chiefs have a number of players who can rush the passer, despite their poor showing in sacks in 2017. Last season, the Chiefs ranked among the NFL’s worst teams in total sacks with 28 (finishing 28th, as a matter of fact). That fails to reflect the level of talent on the roster, however, as injuries kept Justin Houston from suiting up for most games and hampered Dee Ford down the stretch even as Tamba Hali’s impact somehow wasn’t reflected in the stat sheet.

When it comes to the Chiefs, those are the three names mentioned most in conjunction with the pass rush. Hali is one of the franchise’s all-time greats, ranking second in career sacks only to Derrick Thomas in the Chiefs’ record books. Justin Houston is already No. 4 with 60 and is still quite young, which shows just how devastating he can be. If he’d been healthy the last two years, it’s safe to say he’d be nearing Hali’s incredible numbers in an almost unbelievably short time span.

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Dee Ford is the developmental player nearing the end of his rookie contract, a linebacker whose sack total has doubled or more each season in his first three years in the league. Last season’s total of 10 bodes well for his chances to potentially make double digit sacks a regular thing on his resume.

Interestingly enough, when Fanrag’s Jon Ledyard put together his top pass-rushing trios in the NFL, he failed to include Hali. Instead, he has the Chiefs at No. 4 overall with a trio that looks new: Justin Houston, Dee Ford and Chris Jones. He writes:

"Jones was my third choice for the list because he showed a ton of promise last year playing just 50 percent of the team’s defensive snaps. That number should increase significantly this season, and Jones has the burst and power to build on his two-sack rookie campaign with a breakout year. He’s getting a bit long in the tooth, but Tamba Hali still has some pop in his mitts and could easily be the third pass rusher on the list as well."

Jones’ inclusion on this list shouldn’t be a surprise given that he’s a household name for Chiefs fans after a rookie campaign that showed devastating play down the stretch. However, it is a surprise given that Jones isn’t often referred to alongside those guys. He’s supposed to help collapse the pocket and eat up defenders, making the job easier for those aforementioned pass rushers. Could he actually join them?

Last season, Jones had only 2 sacks but was one of the best at putting pressure on the passer from the defensive interior. With the loss of Jaye Howard and Dontari Poe, Jones will have more snaps than ever to get after the passer and his talents suggest the ability to turn even more of those hurries into sacks. But just how many should we expect?

Ledyard’s optimism is nice but it’s also a bit unfounded. Jones only had 8.5 sacks in his entire collegiate career at Mississippi State, including 2.5, a career low, during his final season. Even as he gained experience, he failed to make the quarterbacks of the SEC pay, at least in the way that Ledyard is suggesting here. Though all that says is that he didn’t quite finish the play or that others got the credit, and maybe the Chiefs will deploy him in ways he can flourish as a pass rusher.

However it should also be noted that John Dorsey’s parting gift to the Chiefs was Tanoh Kpassagnon, a developmental defensive lineman from Villanova who earned comparisons to Jason Pierre-Paul. Dorsey said Kpassagnon reminded him of Sean Jones, a great pass rusher for the Raiders, Oilers and Packers who had 113 career sacks. That’s another defensive end who, in time, will be fighting to rush the passer.

On paper it seems like the Chiefs are poised to climb the stat charts for team sacks in 2017 and leave a miserable year, statistically speaking, behind them. If Jones can be a major part of that, there will be no stopping the team’s front seven.

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