The Kansas City Chiefs have three more games before their bye week, which happens to coincide with the 2025 NFL trade deadline. This will allow them to take stock of their roster, make any upgrades necessary to the roster, and use their bye week to integrate them. One of the positions Chiefs fans are hoping to see upgraded is the interior defensive line.
Instead of giving up significant assets to land an impactful veteran, however, it would behoove the Chiefs to unleash their rookie defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott.
The second-round pick of the Chiefs in the 2025 NFL draft, Norman-Lott had an injury-riddled start to his rookie campaign. He has been dealing with injuries throughout camp and suffered an ankle injury in the preseason that kept him out in the season opener. Then, he suffered a shoulder injury that kept him out against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 5. The rocky start has prevented him from playing significant snaps and building momentum, but that shouldn't stop the Chiefs from giving him a larger role.
Omarr Norman-Lott Has to Play More Snaps Starting Week 7
Derrick Nnadi has been a disaster to start the season, currently grading as the worst defensive tackle in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus. Offseason addition Jerry Tillery hasn't been that much better, ranking 112th out of 121 eligible players in the position. Those two veterans have taken the lion's share of snaps on the interior next to Chris Jones and have arguably been the biggest reason for the Chiefs' defensive struggles.
Norman-Lott returned in Week 6 and played eleven defensive snaps against the Lions, compared to Nnadi's 25 and Tillery's 12 out of a total 54 snaps. Considering that the former Tennessee standout was the best performer among those three, those snap counts have to be flipped against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.
Giving Norman-Lott the starting nod and as many snaps as he can handle over the next three weeks will allow the Chiefs to make a better determination at the trade deadline. After all, this team used a valuable second-round pick on ONL and has high hopes for him. Giving up even more assets to upgrade his spot with a veteran only a few months after drafting him isn't the best use of resources.
Finding better backups than Nnadi and Tillery should instead be the priority for general manager Brett Veach and head coach Andy Reid.