Kansas City, Mo. ? Ryan Sims, a training camp holdout called “fat and out of shape” by coach Dick Vermeil when he first reported, will get his first start Sunday against the New York Jets.

Vermeil said Tuesday that the 6-foot-4, 315-pound Sims, the sixth player drafted overall, will start over Derrick Ransom at defensive tackle.

Sims, working himself into shape, has seen his role gradually increase each week for the Chiefs (2-2).

“He has 10 quarterback hurries and three pressures,” Vermeil said. “And he’s been involved in a number of tackles away from the point of attack. He’s a big, strong and explosive guy. He’s not a secret to us. The reason we invested that kind of money is because we can project what he might be able to do once he gets going.”

Vermeil said the move was not influenced by the $9.75 million signing bonus the Chiefs gave Sims at the end of the long holdout, though Vermeil agreed that bonus money does sometimes influence whether a player gets to play.

“It’s not a factor here, but there is a tendency to do that,” he said. “(Nobody) came to me and said, ‘We’ve got all this money invested, let’s start our first-round pick.’

“They never even mentioned it.”

Sims said last week before the Chiefs beat Miami 48-30 that he felt he was picking up his pace every week.

“I’m slowly getting into the scheme,” he said. “It’s kind of complicated right now. But I’ve got these guys helping me out on the field. Hopefully, this week I’ll get into it fully.”

He said he would give himself a C-minus.

“I’ve done all right,” he said. “All I can do is improve. That’s what I keep thinking I can’t do anything but get better.”

Vermeil also said Eddie Freeman, who was taken in the second round after Sims, was being shifted from defensive tackle to end, where the Chiefs had projected him when they drafted him.

Vermeil also said safety Jason Belser might not be over a deep him bruise in time to play against the Jets, which would put them down to their third-team safety. Belser had replaced starter Jerome Woods.