The Kansas City Chiefs enter this season with a strong defense, again. However, they could still use plenty of help in the pass-rushing department, as Chris Jones can only do so much on his own.
The Chiefs got to Justin Herbert three times in the season-opening loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, but they didn't put as much pressure on him as they would've wanted to. He often sat in a clean pocket and managed to get some big gains with his legs when the play broke.
That's why, with Jones and George Karlaftis as the only locks there, perhaps it would be wise for the Chiefs to give the recently-acquired Brodric Martin a chance to do his thing.
What Could Brodric Martin Bring to the Table?
Martin is a big-bodied defensive tackle who excels against the run, which would make him a seamless fit on Steve Spagnuolo's stout run defense. He was a work in progress and a bit of a project when he entered the league a couple of years ago, and he's still a little raw.
However, he did show signs of improvement in the preseason. As pointed out by Joseph Grassano of Detroit Jock City, he logged a 90.7 pass-rush grade in the preseason, and while the sample size is limited, it shows room for improvement:
"This preseason, he has a 90.7 pass rush grade, a 60.7 run defense grade, and a 56.7 overall grade. Though his pass rush grade is high, it is skewed thanks to recording a 92.0 grade against the Miami Dolphins," Grassano wrote.
The Chiefs can't afford to develop a player, and they would much rather have a plug-and-play guy that could contribute right away. Then again, after giving up 304 passing yards in the season opener, they have to at least consider all their options.
Chris Jones Believes This Unit Will Be Better
At least, Chris Jones believes there's still reason to be optimistic about their pass-rush. They're just getting started, and he thinks they're only going to get better as the season goes by:
“You’re looking at the first game of the season, and you can’t judge the team’s success by one game or even one particular play,” he said after the game, per KansasCity.com. “I think we have 16 more games, we have 16 more opportunities to get better. We can watch, make some corrections, fix some errors. I think it was a surplus that inflicted errors — offsides, roughing the passers. Multiple times, we shot ourselves in the foot, some self-inflicted wounds that we can fix and detail that up, and I think we can improve in that aspect.”
Jones was on the wrong side of a game-changing play in the season opener, as he failed to contain Justin Herbert in a game-sealing 19-yard scramble, so he will also be extremely motivated to be at his best going forward.