The Kansas City Chiefs had to make a difficult decision this past offseason: Pay Chris Jones the type of money he once again deserved or let him go to another team (likely a contender)? They chose to pay the man and, at least as of right now, they've chosen correctly.
Jones has put together one heck of a season even if his sack numbers aren't as daunting as they've been in years past. That's probably why Jones isn't in the discussion to win Defensive Player of the Year (or DPOTY, as it's often referred to online) but NFL writer Marcus Mosher is still in disbelief how far down the DPOTY list Jones is.
Mosher pointed out Jones' accolades for the 2024 season, most noticeably that he's first in pressures and hurries. This was when he then quote tweeted this post and said that "13 players have better odds to win DPOY on DraftKings".
Chris Jones continues to be disrespected in DPOTY race
Let's make one thing clear here: This isn't a post saying that Jones deserves to be crowned Defensive Player of the Year. T.J. Watt is the clear frontrunner to win the title and it'd be well-deserved for the Steelers linebacker, who has garnered 11.5 sacks and 18 tackles for loss this season.
Jones' disrespect for the title is that he doesn't have the sack stats to make people take him seriously for the award. He has half of Watt's tackles for loss, with nine on the year, but he only has seven fewer QB hits than Watt does (Watt has 27, Jones has 20).
All of that being said, the Chiefs' pass rush disappeared for a while and while Chiefs fans know that it's because Jones was getting double-teamed, he still went seven games without a sack this season. Watt's never gone more than two games without recording a sack.
Chiefs fans know how valuable Jones is and he's proven time and time again that he becomes most valuable during the playoffs. Were it not for Jones disrupting the 49ers offensive line and getting in Brock Purdy's face during the latest Super Bowl, K.C. might not have won that one in overtime. Had Jones not batted down one of Jimmy Garoppolo's late-game passes in Super Bowl LIV, the Chiefs might not have pulled off the comeback there either.
Where Jones ranks for this award isn't a big deal, but the fact that he's first in pressures and hurries still shows that he's making a huge difference for Kansas City. The Chiefs are going to need him if they want that coveted three-peat.
