How Ashton Gillotte Fits the Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs used their first third-round pick to add another piece to the defense on Friday in the form of Louisville Cardinal Ashton Gillotte. Gillotte adds more depth to the defensive end position, as several analysts predicted the franchise would look to do this draft season.

During his collegiate years, Gillotte showed improvements on a year by year basis. In back-to-back seasons, the newest Chiefs defensive end totaled 23 solo tackles, but what really stands out about him is his aggressiveness to get after the quarterback.

As a junior, Gillotte collected 11 quarterback sacks, further proving the Chiefs did their research to land this guy in the round that they did. Having shared a defensive line coach as current Chiefs defensive end George Karlaftis, the two should be able to mesh well together when they meet in Kansas City.

"But the relationship with George, he was training with us just because of the free facility in the offseason. And so my coach was like, 'I think this would be a good person to get in with. He's a smart guy. I think you would relate to him a little bit.' So, you know, obviously, take advantage of what you can," Gillotte said in his introductory press conference.

"It's kind of like a mentor-type role. I don't be, like, trying to blow his phone up too much. I try to respect it. But now he ain't got no choice. He's stuck with me." 

Karlaftis is the perfect player for Gillotte to continue to learn from, as it leads some to wonder that his relationship with Karlaftis had some impact on how he is a Chief himself now.

Gillotte has already expressed his excitement to get to work, as he obtains the natural drive that is needed to succeed in the National Football League. Not to mention he has expressed moldable talents that can be fine-tuned with proper coaching.

With more to come from the NFL Draft today, stay tuned with us as we continue to break down the newest Chiefs for 2025, as well as staying up to speed on updates on who gets selected.

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