Kansas City Chiefs DT Chris Jones has dropped one spot in Touchdown Wire’s annual positional rankings for interior defensive linemen.
These particular positional rankings combine film study and advanced analytics. Last season, Jones ranked as the league’s No. 3 defensive tackle, mainly because he was a pain for opposing offensive linemen to block regardless of where he was lined up. This season, Jones ranked as the No. 4 defensive tackle, primarily because of the team’s early-season (failed) experiment of playing him as a full-time edge rusher.
“I learned the D-End position is hard as hell,” Jones told reporters following mandatory minicamp. “It was a learning curve for me, especially mental-wise. Knowing the sets, knowing the drops. I think it improved my overall game as a player, mentally being able to know a lot of the different positions.”
