His production and his impact are all the more impressive considering the time he missed sitting out before he and the Chiefs agreed to a new one-year deal.
Nonetheless, Jones is as impressive as ever, which is saying something considering he’s won a pair of Super Bowls with the Chiefs and gone to four Pro Bowls running.
Jones, who had 15.5 sacks in 2022 en route to his first All-Pro selection, has been a menace all along the defensive line, as well. Regarded generally a defensive tackle, 60% of his third-down snaps this season have come aligned at edge, per Next Gen Stats.
“Somebody as good as he is, you’ve got to move him around a little bit,” Reid said. “He’s, not a mark man, but they know they’ve got to slow him down. The best you can move him around, that helps him. Now he’s a good enough athlete where he can do that, he has a good enough feel for things where we can do that with him. Not everyone can do that, he gives you that flexibility. That’s what (defensive coordinator Steve) Spags (Spagnuolo) and (defensive line coach) Joe Cullen do, they give him opportunities outside and inside, mix it up a little bit.”
Kansas City (5-1) hasn’t lost with Jones on the field this year and the Chiefs defense is allowing just 14.7 points per game, second in the NFL and the best for the franchise since 1997, per NFL Research.
There’s clearly been no rust for Jones since he’s returned. He’s playing as phenomenally as he ever has and within striking distance of his own standard for consecutive games with a sack. Next up are the Chargers, who he terrorized for four sacks in two 2022 games.