In case you missed the news du jour, Kansas City Chiefs star defensive tackle, Chris Jones, is considering a season-long hold out if he doesn’t receive a long-term contract. Jones tweeted his stance after a report came out claiming Kansas City had yet to make Jones a long-term extension offer north of $20 million annually.
It seems unlikely that Jones would go through with a holdout when he’s set to make over $16 million on the franchise tag. It seems especially unlikely when you consider the team could tag him again in 2021. However, now that a holdout is a possibility, let’s take a look at the depth chart and see what the Chiefs are working with if Jones were to skip the 2020 season.
Mike Pennel:
2019 stats
Total tackles: 24
Tackles for loss: 2
Sacks: 1
Pennel will likely be leaned upon most in terms of leadership if Jones were to sit out during the 2020 season. He’s going into his seventh NFL season and his second with the Chiefs. He stepped up in the locker room in a big way after landing on the team more than midway through the 2019 season. He helped transform the run defense in Kansas City, but he also was productive getting after the quarterback for the Chiefs. He has 10 total tackles, a ball batted and a pass deflected during the postseason as well.
Khalen Saunders:
2019 stats
Total tackles: 22
Tackles for loss: 0
Sacks: 1
Saunders seems like a natural replacement for Jones on the Chiefs’ roster. From a production standpoint, it doesn’t look like he’ll be able to match Jones. However, Saunders stepped in for Jones during the 2019 season when he was injured in Week 5. He’d play the majority of snaps in place of Jones through Week 9. Going into his second year in the NFL, there’s some expectation that he’ll make a jump in terms of preparedness and production.
The team already seems to be hyping Saunders up a bit ahead of the 2020 season too.
He’s definitely someone to keep an eye on when the Chiefs open training camp later in July.
Derrick Nnadi:
2019 stats
Total tackles: 48
Tackles for loss: 3
Sacks: 1
Nnadi is actually the most veteran interior defensive lineman on the roster besides Jones. He was drafted in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He already is the starter opposite Jones on the defensive line, so there will likely be some more pressure on him to perform. Jones is a guy that is usually drawing the double teams in the interior, but without him, that might fall onto Nnadi. He’ll be tasked with beating those double teams but also winning in one-on-one situations with much greater frequency.
Tanoh Kpassagnon:
2019 stats
Total tackles: 29
Tackles for loss: 6
Sacks: 4
Kpassagnon lined up on the edge and inside during the 2019 season. His size and quickness made him exceptionally difficult for interior offensive linemen to handle.
Case in point:
It’d stand to reason, given the depth Kansas City has on the edge, that Kpassagnon could play inside more frequently if Jones didn’t play in 2020.
Devaroe Lawrence:
Stats in 11 games with Browns
Total tackles: 8
Tackles for loss: 2
Sacks: 0
Lawrence is a player that could surprise some folks in 2020. He spent part of 2019 with the Browns and part on the Chiefs’ practice squad:
“The Chiefs already have a lot of talent along the defensive line, but Lawrence belongs in that conversation as well. After a dominant preseason performance in 2019, he made the 53-man roster with Cleveland Browns. He appeared in 11 games for the Browns including two starts, producing eight total tackles, two tackles for loss, two quarterback hits, a fumble recovery, an interception and a pass deflection.“
Read our full outlook on Lawrence here.
Braxton Hoyett:
No 2019 stats.
Hoyett signed with the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent following the 2019 NFL draft. He accumulated six tackles over the course of four games with the Titans in the 2019 preseason. He joined the Chiefs’ practice squad in October when defensive tackle depth became an issue. Listed at 6-2 and 302 pounds, he could certainly be someone to watch during training camp, but it’s hard to imagine him being someone to replace Jones.
Tershawn Wharton:
No 2019 stats.
Wharton is interesting because the Chiefs list him as a defensive tackle on one roster and a defensive end on their media portal. His listed size (6-4 and 255 pounds) would suggest that he’s best-suited for playing defensive end. However, Chiefs Wire reader @Bski64 on Twitter had this to say when we published our recent spotlight on Wharton:
“Tershawn is closer to 6’3” and 290 lbs and will project inside. Athleticism is off the charts (35” vert, 10’ broad jump, 4.7-4.8 sec 40 yard dash and 32 bench reps). Tag me in the article about him when he’s shocking in camp please.“
Wharton did play some defensive tackle later in his career at Missouri S&T and was highly productive. He even told the Chiefs that he began studying Aaron Donald. Could he be a diamond in the rough for Kansas City?
Conclusion:
There’s no one on the 90-man roster who stands out as an immediate replacement for Jones from a statistical standpoint. There just aren’t many defensive tackles in the NFL who are getting pressure on the quarterback with the type of regularity that Jones does. There are a few intriguing options who, with improvement, could step up and play in place of Jones. Guys like Tanoh Kpassagnon and Khalen Saunders stand out. Then there are guys like Tershawn Wharton and Devaroe Lawrence who are really unknown commodities at this point. The good news is the Chiefs do have the depth to maintain a strong defensive tackle rotation if Jones decides to skip the 2020 season. Hopefully, it won’t come to that because Kansas City is certainly much better with Jones than they are without him.
