The Kansas City Chiefs' defense proved to be an issue in their Week 1 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Though the issues in the secondary were the easiest to see, Kansas City's pass rush also struggled mightily. If the Chiefs want any chance of defeating the Philadelphia Eagles in their Super Bowl rematch in Week 2, they will need their pass rush to step up.
That said, the Chiefs seemingly already have the solution to this problem on their roster. Even though it may not have seemed like it, rookie pass rusher Ashton Gillotte made an impact in his limited action. As a result, Kansas City must utilize him more going forward.
Chiefs Rookie EDGE Ashton Gillotte Needs More Playing Time in Week 2
Despite some Chiefs fans potentially wanting the team to target a veteran disruptor, that's just not realistic. Currently, Kansas City has just under $2.1 million in cap space, according to OverTheCap.
Za'Darius Smith, who is 33 years old, received a $9 million contract from the Eagles last Friday. The Chiefs could try to restructure contracts to sign players; however, there aren't many contracts to restructure this time around. As a result, the pass rush they started the season with will likely be the same at the end of the year (barring a trade).
Luckily, the Chiefs seem to have found a diamond in the rough with Gillotte. In Week 1 against the Los Angeles Chargers, the 22-year-old recorded a 25% pass rush win rate. While that may not sound impressive, he was only on the field for four pass-rush snaps. Sure, he only won a single rep, but for a rookie in his first game with limited opportunities, that's still noteworthy.
When the dust settled, he finished with a quarterback hurry and a 65.1 pass rush grade on Pro Football Focus.
In his senior season at Louisville, Gillotte recorded five sacks, 11 QB hits, 41 hurries, and 57 pressures, according to PFF, illustrating how his speed-to-power rush can help Kansas City with more playing time.
The rookie disruptor recorded the best pass rush win rate of any Chiefs edge rusher in Week 1. Again, proving to be a spark already seems to be needed in this pass rush.
Entering Week 2, it will be interesting to see if the Chiefs give Gillotte more opportunities. If they do, and it pays off, Kansas City has a great chance to win the Super Bowl rematch and feel more confident in its pass rush as the season continues..