A little over a year ago at this time, the Kansas City Chiefs desperately needed to add some depth to the interior defensive line, as the only such players on the roster at that time were Chris Jones, Siaki Ika, and Fabien Lovett Jr.
As such, they went the low-risk, high-reward route and inked Jerry Tillery to a one-year, $1.79 million deal, naturally hoping the Notre Dame product could find the magic that made him a first-round pick all those years ago.
Taken 28th overall back in 2019 by the Los Angeles Chargers, Tillery ultimately spent three and a half seasons with the Bolts before being waived midway through the 2022 campaign, at which point he was picked up by the Las Vegas Raiders, who re-signed him to a two-year, $6.8 million deal following the season but only kept him around for one. The Louisiana native then spent the 2024 season with the Minnesota Vikings before making his way to Kansas City.
In the six seasons spent between those three teams, Tillery never came close to looking like someone worthy of a first-round pick. And his 2025 campaign with the Chiefs was no different.
Jerry Tillery struggled in all facets of the game for the Chiefs in 2025
Now, had Tillery's contract been bigger, we'd likely give him a flat-out "F" for his 2025 performance, much like we really had no choice but to do with Kristian Fulton. But as he was a ridiculously cheap pickup in today's NFL, we're going to let him off the hook here with a "D."
We'll certainly give the 29-year-old credit for once again staying healthy, as he appeared in all 17 regular-season games for the third consecutive year. But he just didn't contribute much, tallying only 12 solo tackles, 1.5 sacks, and a fumble recovery in 374 defensive snaps. And while some who struggle from an overall standpoint sometimes at least do one thing well, that wasn't the case here.
Overall, Tillery earned a 49.0 overall grade for the year, thus ranking 104th among 134 qualifying interior defenders. And breaking it down by category, his 55.3 pass-rush grade also ranked 104th, while his 48.1 run-defense mark ranked 87th.
Furthermore, his 27.3 tackling grade was the worst of his career, as he set a new personal worst by missing 28.0 percent of his attempts in that regard. Okay, so maybe we should revisit that "F" grade, don't you think?
Honestly, it simply doesn't matter any longer, as Tillery is someone else's problem now, as he signed a one-year, $1.148 million contract with the Indianapolis Colts. Perhaps being back in the Hoosier State will unlock something in the former Fighting Irish standout that no other team has been able to find.