The Chiefs’ defense totaled just 39 sacks last season, a big drop-off from the 57 they had in 2023. They turned to the draft to address that.
Kansas City took defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott late in the second round, then three spots later took defensive end Ashton Gillotte early in the third round, and the Chiefs believe the pass rush got a lot better in the course of only a few minutes of the second day of the draft.
Chiefs senior director of player personnel Mike Bradway said the Chiefs knew a top priority in bolstering their roster was increasing the number of good pass rushers on the team.
“You can never have enough of them,” Bradway said, via Adam Teicher of ESPN. “I think Omarr with his inside rush and Ashton just with his versatility, we thought those guys are just too hard to find.”
The Chiefs hope Norman-Lott and Gillotte can join defensive end George Karlaftis and defensive tackle Chris Jones to give them a fearsome defensive line, one that totals a lot more than 39 sacks this year.