Kansas City, Missouri — Sack production was in 2024 at its three-year low, with Chris Jones earning the lowest total since the 2016 rookie season, so the Kansas City Chiefs sought a pass-rush punch in the 2025 NFL Draft.
They chose a defensive tackle that ended Omar Norman Lott in the second round and Ashton Guillot in the third round. If the Chiefs are once again among the Sack league leaders, like they were in 2022 and 2023, they’re at least one of these rookies, and perhaps both of them need to have an impact.
“You can’t get enough of them,” said Mike Bradway, senior director of player rep, about finding players who can successfully rush the opposing quarterback. “I think Omar thought his internal rush and Ashton were just his versatility and we thought those guys would be hard to find.”
The Chiefs had 57 bags in 2023, but last year they had 55 bags, but fell to 39 last season, finishing 17th in the NFL. Defensive Tackle the Sean Wharton remained at the free agency as he was second in the sax Chiefs at 6.5 last season.
Their leaders, eight George Caraftis and five third Jones, are back.
Rather than signing a veteran pass rush in free agency, the Chiefs spent their money elsewhere and went to Norman Lott and Guillott instead. Norman Lott had 13.5 sacks in four college seasons, two in Arizona and two in Tennessee. Guillott had 26.5 bags in his four seasons at Louisville. This includes 11 games in 2023 in 14 games.
“Regretless, merciless,” Norman Lott said as he described his best pass-rush qualities. “I believe I have a natural ability to get off the ball.”
There is plenty of playing time that Norman Lott can use to make money. The Chief has an interior pass rush spot next to Jones. The Chiefs also have veteran defensive tackles Mike Pennell and Jerry Tilley, each of whom are more of a run defender than a pass rusher.
“He has some similarities [Wharton]”Chiefs’ director of players Ryne Nutt spoke about Norman Lott. “He’s big. He’s not that fast, but their playing style is very similar. He was one of the top defensive tackles in getting a one-on-one pass rush.
“We feel like he can hurry past… he’s very productive and very destructive, and those are what we’re looking for.”
If Norman Lott reminds Wharton’s chief, they think Guillot is a similar player to Caraftis. By the time Guillot was drafted by the Chiefs, he was already friends with Karaftis.
Their connections had Mark Hagen, the same defensive line coach in their respective college programs – Purdue and Guillotte’s Caraftis of Louisville after Hagen joined the Cardinals.
“I was studying film with him [before the draft]Watching the play, Guillot spoke of Karaftis. “He was watching the practice and said, ‘That’s bad. You have to fix it.’ He was very critical, but in many ways it helped me refine the way I pass the rush and get to this level. ”
Now that they are teammates, Guillott said, “He was trying to give me an overview of what I needed to know about the city, where to live, all of that stuff. [including] Playbook. I [not] He’s trying to blow his phone away, but now he has no choice. He’s stuck with me. ”
The Chiefs didn’t mind production from the Guillot, as they received from Caraftis since drafting in the first round of 2022. Carlaftis had 10.5 in 2023 and six bags as eight rookies last season.
After a major season in 2023, the guillot bag total fell to 4.5 last year.
“This kid plays 100 mph,” Bradway said. “He’s everything you want from a footballer. From makeup to the way he plays the game… a guy is absolutely merciless.
“Sometimes, the numbers on the bag can be a bit misleading. You can feel him when you look at the tape. I’ll tell you one more thing about him. He said this spring that his pro day was probably better explosiveness, athleticism, and athleticity like a linebacker.
