New England Patriots: Chris Jones could wreak havoc in Week 1

Second-year defensive tackle Chris Jones could pose a major threat to the New England Patriots’ offense.

The New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs will go head to head this Thursday as the two teams kick off the 2017 regular season. While most fans would expect Chiefs’ pass rusher Justin Houston to yield the most pressure against quarterback Tom Brady, another Kansas City defender could stand in the way of a New England victory.

That player is second-year defensive tackle Chris Jones. The Chiefs drafted Jones with the 37th overall pick in the 2016 draft and he consistently disrupted the rhythm of opposing quarterbacks in his first season.

Jones played over 50% of Kansas City’s defensive snaps as a rookie, tallying two sacks and 28 combined tackles in eleven starts.

If there’s one way to beat the Patriots, it’s by creating pressure against Tom Brady. On Thursday, New England will have their hands full dealing with the young, rising star.

According to Pro Football Focus, In 2016, Jones ranked eighth among all interior defensive linemen with a pass rush productivity grade of 9.4. In addition, the rookie defensive tackle earned an overall grade of 83.5 from PFF, 13th amongst his position.

Jones finished the year with 42 pressures, however, just two sacks, earning praise as one of the league’s best pass rushers with a low sack rate.

Despite starting training camp on the physically unable to perform list, Jones made his preseason debut against the Seattle Seahawks in Kansas City’s third preseason game. He played 27 defensive snaps for the Chiefs in his first game back since undergoing offseason knee surgery, finishing the contest with one sack.

In Super Bowl LI, the Patriots’ offensive line surrendered three sacks to Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle, Grady Jarrett. The Falcons used defensive line stunts to utilize Jarrett as a pass rusher, looping him to the outside against right tackle Marcus Cannon. Kansas City may want to consider using the same blitzes and schemes to create the same mismatches with New England’s pass protection.

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Interior offensive linemen Joe Thuney, David Andrews, and Shaq Mason will likely be tasked with facing off against Jones on Thursday night, with tackles Nate Solder and Marcus Cannon on the outside.

The Patriots offense will have Pro Bowlers Justin Houston, Marcus Peters, and Tamba Hali to deal with as they take the field tomorrow, although, Jones could present the biggest threat.