Kansas City Chiefs DT Chris Jones earned a Defensive Player of the Year nod from Pro Football Focus in their end-of-season awards following the conclusion of the 2022 regular season.
Jones’ prowess as an interior rusher, but also his versatility helped him surpass the performances of other defenders like Cowboys LB Micah Parsons, 49ers DE Nick Bosa and Browns DE Myles Garrett. Here’s what PFF’s Sam Monson had to say about Jones’ selection:
“While all of the focus has been on the three elite edge rusher seasons, Chris Jones has been every bit as good as an interior force. With 77 total pressures, Jones tallied 14 more than any other interior pass rusher, and he even had snaps where he kicked out to rush around tackles from a true edge alignment at well north of 300 pounds.”
♦️ 14 more pressures than the next DI
♦️ Only DI with over a 20% pass-rush win rate
♦️ 92.0 PFF GradePFF's Defensive Player of the Year: Chris Jones pic.twitter.com/ht54lB7UOI
— PFF (@PFF) January 12, 2023
Jones was also named PFF’s “Best Pass Rusher” this season, which is where his ability to rush the passer from an interior alignment truly shined brighter than the rest of the competition.
“Jones tallied the most pressures (77) and the best pass-rush win rate (20.2%) of any interior rusher, with not a single one of his pressures being unblocked. He also had a massive 41 pass-rushing wins that didn’t get a chance to become pressure because the ball was thrown before it could.”
The veteran defensive tackle has been what makes the Chiefs’ defense go this season — and that will again be true during the postseason.
