Why Jerry Tillery was a sneaky-good signing for the Chiefs in free agency

The Kansas City Chiefs finally added to their interior defensive line in free agency last week when they signed former Minnesota Vikings and AFC West defensive tackle Jerry Tillery to a 1-year deal.

Tillery, who was a first-round draft choice for the Los Angeles Chargers in 2019, has accumulated 187 combined tackles to go with 12.5 sacks and 4 forced fumbles in 50 career starts.

While Tillery has mainly been considered a bust given where he was drafted and can be called a journeyman now, he has quietly become a solid rotation player who can fill in snaps along the defensive line. That said, his signing with the Chiefs may prove to be an even better pickup than most realize.

Chiefs Kingdom should be more excited about the Jerry Tillery signing than they are.

Prior to the Tillery signing, Kansas City badly needed bodies along the defensive line, especially along the interior. Chris Jones is the only player from Kansas City's rotation in 2024 who was still on the roster. Meanwhile, free-agent defensive tackles were flying off the board to other teams for very inexpensive deals, which left fans wondering when the Chiefs were going to make a move for one.

When fans looked at the list of who was still available, Tillery stood out because of his athletic ability and traits which the Chiefs look for in their defensive lineman. Tillery can play inside and outside, which is key as Steve Spagnuolo loves to move his defensive lineman around. Tillery gives them another player who can rush from the interior on passing downs alongside Chris Jones or even when Jones is occasionally moved out to the edge.

The fact that we still don't know what the money is for Tillery's contract likely means that it is going to be a very cheap deal and maybe even the veteran's minimum. What that also means is that Tillery most likely isn't expected to start. Kansas City is going to continue to add depth and probably draft at least on defensive tackle in what is a very deep draft class at the position.

On the surface, the Tillery move doesn't seem all that exciting, but this is someone who graded out as a freak athlete coming out of the NFL Draft in 2019 and has very similar measurables to Chris Jones.

Obviously, Tillery is not Chris Jones, but he has recorded 46 pressures over the past two seasons and 12.5 sacks throughout his career. He's at least a threat to rush the passer compared to a Derrick Nnadi or Mike Pennel, who don't offer anything in that department.

Tillery isn't the most efficient pass rusher in the league by any means, but again, he's not expected to start and will probably slot in as DT3 or even DT4 when the season starts. To put that into perspective, Derrick Nnadi was fourth on the depth chart for Kansas City in 2024, and as mentioned, he wasn't a threat to rush the passer, nor does he have anywhere close to the career stats of Tillery.

When you look at it, the Chiefs are upgrading their depth towards the back of the depth chart as they're going from a one-dimensional player like Nnadi to a defensive tackle who is a freak athlete, has started 50 games in his career, and is at least a threat to get after the quarterback.

Kansas City wants to get after it with their front four again which is something they struggled to do last year and the Tillery signing is indicative of that. He joins a line that already has Chris Jones who is going to draw a lot of double teams and attention which means Tillery will get plenty of one-on-one opportunities and favorable matchups in a reserve pass rusher role. This may result in a career year for him statistically and that is why Chiefs fans should be higher on this signing than most.