When rookie defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott suffered a season-ending ACL injury in Week 7, many Kansas City Chiefs fans assumed that the team would bring in reinforcements for the position that was already lacking in depth. The injury leaves Chris Jones, Derrick Nnadi, and Jerry Tillery as the only healthy interior defensive linemen on the roster, and Nnadi and Tillery have not met expectations so far.
However, the team has yet to make a move to address the position, with head coach Andy Reid revealing that he is happy with the available players. On Friday, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo discussed the depth at defensive tackle:
"I was really disappointed to lose Omarr (Norman-Lott)... It's disappointing for him. He'll grind through it and we'll get him back next year... What he gave us was some juice inside... Now we won't have that."Steve Spagnuolo, Chiefs DC
Spagnuolo also added that Tillery, Nnadi, and Jones will all have to play more, per A to Z Sports' Charles Goldman. The most important part of his words, though, was when he said some defensive ends will have to play inside more, which puts pressure on a certain rookie to step up.
Ashton Gillotte Has to Step Up in Omarr Norman-Lott's Absence
Spagnulo's remarks put more pressure on the defensive end rotation, perhaps most notably on Ashton Gillotte. Not because he will be expected to play on the interior, but because he will have to replace the pass rush production lost with the defensive ends moving inside. George Karlaftis, Mike Danna, and Malik Herring will all be options to play snaps on the inside, as they have done on various points in their Chiefs careers.
The defensive end who will spend the most time at DT, however, will likely be Charles Omenihu. The 28-year-old has more size and strength than any of the other options, and has more experience as a tackle from earlier in his career. During his Texans days, Omenihu played extensively on the interior.
This means that Gillotte should be in line for an increased role at defensive end. Omenihu has played over 50% of the team's defensive snaps every single game of the season. When some of those snaps move to DT, the next in line for more opportunities will be Danna and Gillotte.
The third-round pick is coming off the two best performances of his career in the last two weeks, receiving a 57.5 and a 71.5 defensive grade on Pro Football Focus, respectively. He is still a work in progress, as he has yet to make a big impact, recording one tackle for loss and one quarterback hit in 160 snaps on the season.
If he can continue the momentum that he built in back-to-back showings against the Detroit Lions and the Baltimore Ravens, perhaps the Chiefs can survive Norman-Lott's injury. Otherwise, the calls for defensive line reinforcement will continue to get louder ahead of the Nov. 4 trade deadline.