Ashton Gillotte was a very wanted man in the 2025 NFL Draft.

While there’s no question about where the Kansas City Chiefs had Gillotte on their draft board—proven by the fact that they selected the Louisville defensive end atop the third round at No. 66 overall—it turns out that numerous other NFL teams not only wanted Gillotte badly but had him right around the same range as the Chiefs.

In other words, Chiefs general manager Brett Veach read the situation perfectly.

Veach submitted a card with Gillotte’s name on it with the Chiefs’ third pick in the 2025 draft with a choice provided them by the Tennessee Titans, courtesy of the L’Jarius Sneed trade from the previous spring. The Titans’ miserable finish put the Chiefs near the pole position at the top of the third round, which meant they could stack picks behind their second-round pick.

Brett Veach stuck it to several teams when he selected Gillotte in the third round.

With the duo of picks at No. 63 and 66, the Chiefs stacked their defensive front for years to come with Tennessee defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott and Gillotte, respectively. That was a problem for multiple other franchises because they were plotting behind the scenes to move up for Gillotte in that exact same range.

A new column from Mike Silver at The Athletic takes readers inside the draft war room of the Jacksonville Jaguars over the three-day 2025 NFL Draft. While the primary focus on anything Jags-related is their acquisition of Travis Hunter at No. 2 overall, it turns out there was a great story also brewing with regards to Gillotte.

Per Silver, the Jaguars had Gillotte and running back R.J. Harvey in their sights with their third-round pick at No. 70 overall. However, the Detroit Lions and L.A. Rams were also calling the Jags with offers to trade up into the same pick. For the Jags, they were focused on acquiring either player or trading out if neither were available.

The Denver Broncos would end up drafting Harvey, and, well, we all know the Chiefs took care of Gillotte a few picks earlier. But when Gillotte went off the board to Kansas City, the Rams withdrew their offer as well. Silver describes the scene: “Seconds later, Gladstone fielded a phone call and grimaced. ‘The Rams are out,’ he said. ‘Guess who they wanted? Gillotte.'”

Chiefs Kingdom already had plenty of reasons to love the Gillotte pick as a well-rounded defensive end who will be a strong asset in both the run game and in the pass rush. His proven record of production and relentless motor make him ideal for what Steve Spagnuolo demands from his edge players.

It’s not as if Veach needed any more validation with multiple Super Bowl titles under his belt, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to know he stuck it to several other general managers when he snuck the Gillotte pick in before other teams were ready to do the same.