{"id":259183,"date":"2025-08-03T18:48:12","date_gmt":"2025-08-03T18:48:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/259183\/"},"modified":"2025-08-03T18:48:12","modified_gmt":"2025-08-03T18:48:12","slug":"chiefs-training-camp-day-10-josh-simmons-and-chris-jones-square-off-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/259183\/","title":{"rendered":"Chiefs Training Camp Day 10: Josh Simmons and Chris Jones square off"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Saturday morning, the Kansas City Chiefs<\/a> conducted their tenth training camp practice in front of a packed house in St. Joseph, Missouri.<\/p>\n

The day\u2019s most intriguing matchup \u2014 perhaps the most intriguing through the entire camp \u2014 was between rookie left tackle Josh Simmons and Kansas City\u2019s superstar defensive tackle Chris Jones.<\/p>\n

Starting at left tackle in every camp practice so far, Simmons has looked the part against the Chiefs\u2019 veteran-heavy defensive line, which includes George Karlaftis, Mike Danna and Charles Omenihu \u2014 but until Sunday, he hadn\u2019t gone up against Jones. <\/p>\n

The matchup<\/p>\n

The first rep between them was a 1-on-1 situation in Saturday\u2019s first 11-on-11 period. The Chiefs were focusing on third downs.<\/p>\n

Chris Jones rushing from the edge here. Simmons holds his own on the first rep.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Caleb James (@CJScoobs) August 2, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Lined up across from Simmons, Jones fired out of his stance. Simmons met him on the arc, holding him out of the backfield. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes quickly released the ball \u2014 and that was that. This was not a difficult play for Simmons, because with the quick release, Jones didn’t have the time to work a true pass rush move against the rookie. <\/p>\n

The pair met again in a 1-on-1 pass-rushing drill, which gives a distinct advantage to the defensive player. This creates a valuable learning tool for the offensive line. So far in camp, Jones has mostly lined up along the inside of the offensive player \u2014 but this time, he lined up outside. <\/p>\n

As we see here, Simmons gets off the ball quickly, trying to jump-set Jones. Bringing a power rush, Jones fires his hands, landing them inside. He starts to sink in order to gain leverage \u2014 but Simmons instinctively pops his hip and anchors down to stop Jones\u2019 move. After fighting to reset his hands, Simmons tries to finish the play, but Jones finishes the rep with a vicious shove. <\/p>\n

While Jones won this rep by showing the rookie a taste of true NFL power, Simmons was still very impressive, showing the ability to recover and anchor down \u2014 something that many tackles with years of experience cannot do.<\/p>\n

A former Chiefs All-Pro weighed in on the snap. <\/p>\n

The Chris Jones dilemma. Use your hands and get them swiped or lifted. Get your hands outside like here and Chris gets your chest and bull rushes you into the next dimension. Still unreal that he\u2019s able to be as successful rushing at DE as he is, at his size. https:\/\/t.co\/wadeO3e5iB<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Mitchell Schwartz (@MitchSchwartz71) August 2, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

The rep showed why Jones is the best in the game: he was setting up a move for later in the practice.<\/p>\n

In the final full team period, the two players met again. This time, Simmons got the better of the All-Pro. <\/p>\n

Simmons with an incredible effort vs Jones. 95 goes with the bull but Simmons anchored and locked in. Jones tried to swim and return B-Gap but Simmons powers down and out leveraged Jones to stop his momentum and win the snap.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Caleb James (@CJScoobs) August 2, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

On this play, Jones attempts to set up Simmons with a bull rush similar to the one he used in the drill. He is trying to transition to a swim move to catch the rookie off guard. <\/p>\n

But Simmons had a different idea. He quickly gets his hands on Jones. When the veteran attempts to go back inside, Simmons out-leverages him, quickly moving his feet to shut down the rush \u2014 and allowing Mahomes enough time to get the ball off. <\/p>\n

It was an impressive look, demonstrating exactly the kind of block an NFL starting left tackle must be able to make. <\/p>\n

The bottom line<\/p>\n

Simmons and Jones both had quality practices. We should monitor the matchups between them through the rest of camp. Jones will continue to give the rookie valuable experience as he prepares to face a gauntlet of edge rushers \u2014 starting with a matchup against future Hall of Famer Khalil Mack in Kansas City\u2019s regular-season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers<\/a>.<\/p>\n