In a recent article by Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus, he named every team’s biggest X-factor going into the second half of the season. For the Raiders, it’s Chandler Jones. Here is what Spielberger had to say about Jones through eight games:
“Edge defender Chandler Jones. The obvious answer here is Darren Waller getting his hamstring right, but Jones is looking like one of the worst value free agent deals of the offseason. He has a 58.8 pass-rush grade and a 7.4% pressure percentage, which ranks 79th out of 91 qualifying edge defenders.”
Jones has recorded just 0.5 sacks through eight games this year and it’s pretty clear he’s no longer the player he was in New England or Arizona. But the Raiders need to get something out of him in the second half of the season. Because what we’ve seen so far is pretty disappointing.
If Jones continues to play this way over the next few weeks, the Raiders should give some serious thought to cutting his snaps back in favor of younger players, such as Malcolm Koonce.
Needless to say, he’s been one of the team’s biggest disappointments in the first half of the season.
