Chris Jones is the cornerstone of the Kansas City Chiefs defense and has proven to be one of the best players in the NFL since entering the league in 2016.
Although stats and numbers are what most players focus on, Jones puts more emphasis on team success and seeing the guys around him perform to the best of their abilities.
“As a player, it’s not what you do, I think it’s more so how you make players around you better,” Jones said. “Making sure George [Karlaftis] has a career year, making sure Mike [Danna] has a career year – that gives me excitement – I feel like I contribute to that a lot. I invest a lot in those guys, so to see those guys succeed brings joy to me.”
Jones was asked if he has been frustrated by not producing sacks the last few weeks, but the 29-year-old defensive tackle is confident in his play regardless if he is ‘putting up numbers’ or not.
“I don’t get frustrated with my numbers, I’m going to hit my numbers,” Jones continued. “I’m going to hit my numbers, regardless. So, I never [worry] about numbers.”
The star pass rusher continued to emphasize the importance of opening things up for his teammates and valuing their success more than his production.
“It’s hard with all the attention I get, it gets harder, but when you have guys around succeeding, it makes it easier for you,” Jones said. “Frustration can creep in when you feel like your numbers matter, but for me, I don’t give a damn about numbers, honestly. In my head, whatever I want is still ahead of me. Still, eight games left, another half of a season left.”
Entering week 11, Jones has 5.5 sacks, nine solo tackles, eight assisted tackles, and three passes defended. Those may appear as underwhelming numbers, but Jones’ impact on this defense cannot be measured by stats alone.