The Kansas City Chiefs have been straight-up struggling to get after the quarterback for the past two seasons without blitzing, and that's a massive problem. In 2024, they were a dismal 30th in pressure rate at just 25% and 29th in sack rate at a measly 4.7%. Yeah, the numbers bumped up a bit in 2025 to 17th in pressure (31%) and 14th in sacks (6.9%), but let's be real, that's still not good enough for a team with high hopes.
The Pass Rush Has Been a Fourth-Quarter Nightmare
Remember those gut-wrenching fourth-quarter collapses? It felt like every time the Chiefs needed a stop against teams like the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 1, the Buffalo Bills in Week 10, the Denver Broncos in Week 11, or the Dallas Cowboys in Week 13, their defense just couldn't generate any consistent pressure to close things out. It was brutal to watch them unable to seal games. The front office knows this is an issue, too. They tried to fix it in the 2025 draft, grabbing defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott with pick No. 63 and defensive end Ashton Gillotte at No. 66. But that's where the real question marks start piling up.Omarr Norman-Lott: A Handful of Snaps, a Mountain of Hope?
Unfortunately, the Chiefs didn't get immediate bang for their buck from those 2025 draft picks, especially Norman-Lott. The guy suffered an early-season ACL tear that pretty much derailed his rookie year. We're talking just 45 pass-rush snaps before he went down, finishing with four pressures and one sack. How much can you really learn from that? Honestly, it's tough to figure out what the Chiefs actually have in Norman-Lott. His college career wasn't exactly a highlight reel of full-time play either; he logged less than 1,000 snaps over five seasons and averaged around 17 snaps a game during his senior year at Tennessee. He was always a rotational guy. But here's the thing: the talent is there. Norman-Lott is an explosive, slippery pass rusher who can get underneath interior offensive linemen and create pressure, especially from the nose tackle spot. His big downside? A lack of size and length that hurts his run defense. So, his role is probably limited to pure pass-rush situations, maybe playing as a one-technique tackle alongside Peter Woods or Chris Jones. Can he justify playing those limited snaps with enough game-changing pass rush? That's the million-dollar question heading into the season. The Chiefs are banking on Norman-Lott delivering in a very specific, limited role to finally fix a pass rush that's been in the league's basement. His ability to produce on those precious snaps is going to be a huge factor in whether they can get those crucial stops and finally close out games this year.This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.