Would Chris Jones Make the Defensive Line Better as an End?
As Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones sat out Monday's game against the New England Patriots due to a groin injury, we saw the interior line duo of Mike Pennell and Derrick Nnadi raise the question, "Would Chris Jones make the defensive line better as an end?"
With Jones' injury, the Chiefs were forced to put out their best defensive line formation without him and it ended up being the best for stopping the run. While the Chiefs didn't allow fewer yards than their average, Pennell ended the game with 10 tackles, good enough for a team-best.
Arrowhead Report's Conner Christopherson joined me on today's Roughing the Kicker podcast to discuss this idea that he tweeted out during the game on Monday.
As Conner mentioned, the interior line play on Monday is a big reason this is a conversation. Going into the matchup, it was known the Chiefs were going to have to stop the run on the defensive side of the ball to be successful
Previously with Conner, we discussed how Jones' run-stopping ability is a weakness in his game and it showed against the Los Angeles Chargers. While it improved against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 3, have the Chiefs' found the right combination on the intior defensive line?
While Jones' injury on the surface makes the Chiefs worse overall, Kansas City was able to put out their two best run stoppers in a game that was going to be run-heavy with backup quarterbacks leading the way for the Patriots.
If Jones moves to the opposite defensive end position to Frank Clark, he gets to be on the field at the same time as Clark but also the same time as Nnadi and Pennell, boosting the pass-rushing threat while beefing up the middle against the run.
The biggest concern coming into the season was the Cheifs' secondary and now that they are the third-ranked passing defense through four weeks, more attention could be focused on the rush defense, where they rank 27th in yards allowed per game.
Jones could still impact games in the best way that he does while giving way for the Chiefs to become stronger against other teams' rushing attacks. It's not Necessarily something the Chiefs will try to do, but it's interesting to think about.
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