Chiefs DL Coach Provides Updates on Two Draft Picks

The Kansas City Chiefs had specific offseason needs that they had to address if they wanted to walk into 2025 more confident than they ended 2024. While they do have studs on the line already, the future of the line was crucial to add to, and the Chiefs did just that.

Through the 2025 NFL Draft, two of the bigger defensive pick-ups came in the form of second-round pick Omarr Norman-Lott and third-round pick Ashton Gillotte.

Norman-Lott adds insurance behind Mike Pennel Jr and even Chris Jones. While he might not get a ton of starts to begin the season, he could easily progress well to earn those opportunities down the line.

Gillotte has a ton of high expectations. Having learned from current Chiefs defensive end George Karlaftis, Gillotte has a ton of potential to grow into. Similar to Norman-Lott, Gillotte should begin as a backup option, but a good one at that.

The two give the Chiefs coaching staff high hopes as they are early draft picks, so it's crucial their development begins sooner rather than later. Lucky for Chiefs Kingdom, there have been positive developments thus far through OTAs, as provided by defensive line coach Joe Cullen.

"They're really good players," Cullen said to the media on Wednesday. "They have great motors. They're powerful, they're explosive, they're sudden. Both of them at their school were great in their role."

"When you look at Omarr, this past year, he led the NCAA in pass rush win ratio by interior tackles. And then Ashton played all over the place. He played end, he played inside 4i. He was powerful, he was explosive... Both those guys are going to bring great energy to the room, and they're doing that now."

Cullen would also note that he believes these guys are capable of playing in spots such as first or third down. With Pennel starting to age, as well as Charles Omenihu only signed for one season, both Norman-Lott and Gillotte could see their roles increase sooner than anyone could expect.

All in all, the Chiefs needed to hit on a majority of their draft picks, and hearing from several personnel from the coaching staff thus far rave about their prospects, the Chiefs should be in good hands.

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