NFL free agency 2020: Best defensive linemen available

1. Chris Jones

The Kansas City Chiefs were one penalty away from a Super Bowl appearance in 2018. All offseason the team had time to reflect on “what could have been” and try to answer some of the questions on the defense.

Steve Spagnuolo was brought in to orchestrate another Super Bowl-winning defense, as he did with the New York Giants. Well, his scheme and the play of standouts like Chris Jones helped the city claim its first Super Bowl title in 50 years.

Jones was one of the best players for the Chiefs all season. Missing three regular-season games, he still led the club with nine sacks. Even banged up, he made plays.

The 25-year-old had his statement season in 2018 with 15.5 sacks. He also had 49 pressures and 19 hurries.

Another great part to Jones’ style of play is how effective he is at batting down passes. We saw it in the Super Bowl and throughout the playoffs. He was the ability to time his jumps and swat passes down before they get too far passed the line of scrimmage.

Jones is young, has Super Bowl experience, and still has room to grow. Therefore, his payday will be massive this offseason.

Spotrac.com projects his current market value at $19.2 million a year. He could demand contract terms like the deal his teammate Frank Clark got ($104 million over five years), or DeMarcus Lawrence of the Dallas Cowboys ($105 million over five years).

There is no doubt that the Chiefs would love to have him back and will do what they can to make him fit under the current cap.