As hard as it may be to believe, it's been more than a decade now since the Kansas City Chiefs selected Chris Jones in the 2016 NFL Draft as part of a class that also included Tyreek Hill.
For those who may have forgotten, the Chiefs traded away their first-round pick that year to the San Francisco 49ers, sending the No. 28 overall selection as well as a seventh-round pick (No. 249) to the Niners in exchange for a second-rounder (No. 37), a fourth-rounder (No. 105), and a sixth-rounder (No. 178).
As such, that No. 37 pick became the Chiefs' first selection of the week in Chicago, and it was with that pick that they selected Jones, who'd had a good but not great three-year run at Mississippi State and wasn't viewed by most as one of the top five defensive tackles in his class, typically falling into the seven-to-10 range by most experts.
In the end, though, he was the fifth DT off the board and the first of the second round, as Sheldon Rankins (No. 12, New Orleans Saints), Kenny Clark (No. 27, Green Bay Packers), Robert Nkemdiche (No. 29, Arizona Cardinals), and Vernon Butler (No. 30, Carolina Panthers) were all taken in Round 1.
But of these five players, Jones has been far and away the best, earning seven trips to the Pro Bowl and six total All-Pro selections (three First Team, three Second Team) over the last decade in leading a unit that has helped the Chiefs hoist the Lombardi Trophy three times in five Super Bowl appearances.
And as far as statistics go, while not all defensive tackles are pass-rush specialists, Jones, who tallied just 8.5 at the collegiate level, has certainly proven to be one of the most dominant defenders in that area as a pro, racking up 87.5 in his 155 regular-season appearances, tacking on another 3.5 in the playoffs. But for the purposes of this piece, we'll be sticking to the regular season.
With those 87.5, Jones currently sits third on the Chiefs' all-time sacks list, but assuming he stays healthy, he'll soon move into the No. 2 position, while obviously also improving his standing on the NFL's overall all-time leaderboard.
Chris Jones needs just 3.0 sacks to move into solo second on the Chiefs' all-time list
Now, tracking sacks from an all-time perspective is tricky, as they didn't become an official NFL stat until 1982. That said, however, the fine folks over at Pro Football Reference did some digging a few years back and added every sack dating back to 1960, thus creating both an official list and an unofficial list.
As far as the Chiefs are concerned, it doesn't really matter, as the top three looks the same no matter what. Truth be told, the top six looks the same no matter what, but as mentioned, Jones currently sits in third, so we'll just stick to the top three, which shakes out as follows:
- Derrick Thomas: 126.5
- Tamba Hali: 89.5
- Chris Jones: 87.5
As you can see, Jones needs just 3.0 sacks in 2026 to move into solo second ahead of Tamba Hali, who tallied 89.5 during his 12-year run in Kansas City from 2006 to 2017. Naturally, the No. 1 slot belongs to the late, great Derrick Thomas, who recorded an incredible 126.5 from 1989 to 1999 before his tragic death in early 2000.
As it pertains to the NFL's official all-time list, Jones' 87.5 has him in a tie for 65th place alongside Leonard Little. If he can manage to get to 10.0 in 2026, he would move into the top 50 all-time, as Simon Fletcher, Jacob Green, Dexter Manley, and Mario Williams are currently tied for 48th at 97.5 each.
On the unofficial list, Jones is tied for 97th and would need a career-high 18.5 to move into the top 50, as Trace Armstrong, Jack Gregory, and Ed "Too Tall" Jones are currently tied at No. 50 with 106.0 apiece.
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