The Panthers may not be in total rebuild mode. There are major changes coming to both sides of the ball, though.

One area that may see a ton of turnover is the interior of the defensive line. Kawann Short isn’t going anywhere, but the same can’t be said for anybody else at the position. Dontari Poe could be a cap casualty and Vernon Butler, Gerald McCoy and Kyle Love will all become free agents next month. So, the team may need some fresh blood.

To that end, our next potential 2020 free agent target profile is Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones, who probably should have been the MVP of Super Bowl LIV.

Career stats:

Kansas City picked Jones (6-foot-6, 310 pounds) in the second round of the 2016 NFL draft. Since then, he’s played in 61 games, totaling 33 sacks, 72 quarterback hits, 37 tackles for a loss, seven forced fumbles, two interceptions and 20 pass breakups. For the 2019 season, Pro Football Focus gave Jones an 89.5 pass rush grade.

Pros:

On Sunday, Jones showed the whole world he’s one of the league’s most disruptive interior defenders. He helped pressure Jimmy Garoppolo into throwing his now-infamous desperation interception. Jones also batted down three of Garoppolo’s passes at the line of scrimmage. At just 25 years old, it looks like Jones could be an elite iDL for a long time.

Cons:

Jones is a respectable run defender, but he has room to improve. That’s nitpicking, though. The only thing not to like about Jones’ game is how much it’s going to cost to sign him.  In the unlikely event the Chiefs allow him to leave, Jones will cash in on the open market. While he won’t get Aaron Donald money, Jones will command at least as much as J.J. Watt, Fletcher Cox or Grady Jarrett, who are averaging around $17 million a year.

Probability: Low

Jones would be a dream signing for the Panthers. However, there are too many teams with far more cap space for them to really compete.

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