Ranking the AFC West by position: Defensive interior

Now for the rest of the interior defensive linemen (we covered the nose tackles already). This includes the 3-tech and 5-tech defensive tackles/ends to see where they rank in the AFC West.

1. Chiefs – Chris Jones, Allen Bailey

Jones led the division in sacks among defensive tackles (6.5) and was fifth in the league. Bailey saw just five games of the 2016 season due to a torn pectoral muscle that sent him to injured reserve. He returned last season, with less sacks than he had in 2014-15, but is still a serviceable starting defensive lineman.

2. Broncos –Derek Wolfe, Adam Gotsis

Wolfe’s sack numbers were down last season (2.0) in 11 games, but he had 11.0 sacks in 26 games over the previous two seasons. Raiders fans may remember Gotsis as the guy on whose knee Derek Carr broke his back. Outside of that, he had a decent season for his first as a full time starter. Even with the duo’s low sack numbers (4.0), they were still a big part of the best run defense in the NFL.

3. Chargers – Corey Liuget

Former first round pick (18 overall) has been among the league’s better defensive tackles over his seven NFL seasons. He had just 1.5 sacks, but that’s not really his job. He keeps containment to allow Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram time to get the sacks.

4. Raiders –Mario Edwards Jr/Maurice Hurst

The battle is on between the disappointing, injury prone former second pick and the rookie who slipped to the fifth round because of a heart condition.