Late in the second round of the NFL Draft, defensive tackles like Tyleik Williams of Ohio State and Alfred Collins of Texas had already come off the board, while Toledo\u2019s Darius Alexander was still available. These were some of the high-profile players that Kansas City Chiefs fans had been expecting the team to acquire to improve its defensive interior.<\/p>\n
But Kansas City used the 63rd overall pick to get Tennessee defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott. While he wasn\u2019t the player many fans expected, the Chiefs had been eyeing him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis get-off is one of the top in this class,\u201d director of player personnel and college scouting Ryne Nutt said of Norman-Lott on Monday. \u201cHe can get up the field and use his hands. He\u2019s got a move array. So as a rusher, [he] was very intriguing.\u201d<\/p>\n
As far as the Chiefs\u2019 were concerned, Norman-Lott could replace some of what the team lost with the departure of Tershawn Wharton, who signed a three-year deal with the Carolina Panthers in free agency.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s got some similarities to Turk,\u201d said Nutt. \u201cHe\u2019s bigger \u2014 [and] he\u2019s not as fast \u2014 but their playing style is very similar. This kid was like 99th percentile in terms of rush win rate; he was one of the top defensive tackles in winning one-on-one pass rushes. And that\u2019s what we \u2014 first off \u2014 need. And that\u2019s what we saw could add value.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nutt reminded his listeners that at the NFL Scouting Combine, Norman-Lott checked in at 6 feet 2 and 291 pounds, with 33 3\/4-inch arms and 10 3\/4-inch hands \u2014 and then turned in a 31.5-inch vertical jump and a 9-foot-5 broad jump.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose guys go quick,\u201d explained Nutt. \u201cWe know they go quick \u2014 and an interior guy that can rush as well [will] go even quicker.\u201d<\/p>\n
And that<\/em> put him on general manager Brett Veach\u2019s radar.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore the draft \u2014 [and] before that round,\u201d recalled Nutt, \u201cBrett was pretty adamant: \u2018OK, he\u2019s one of these guys we have to consider.\u2019 We put up a list of four or five guys. He was one of them. He ended up being one of the top guys left \u2014 and that was a position of need as well.\u201d<\/p>\n The team is well aware that, unlike some of the other defensive tackles available in the draft, Norman-Lott (who played just 26% of Tennessee\u2019s defensive snaps in 2024, per PFF) was mostly used as a pass rusher in sub-packages. But according to Nutt, that\u2019s just what the Chiefs need.<\/p>\n \u201cWe feel like he can come in and help out \u2014 [and] help rush the passer,\u201d maintained Nutt. \u201cHe didn\u2019t start a ton [during] his career there at Tennessee, but it\u2019s really what you do with snaps \u2014 and they rotate a lot. So really, it\u2019s just what he does in those 20 to 25 snaps a game. The kid [has a] high motor. He was highly productive and highly disruptive. And those are the things we look for.\u201d<\/p>\n The team also believes that Norman-Lott is walking into the right situation with defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and defensive line coach Joe Cullens.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019ll be with coach Cullens,\u201d noted Nutt, \u201cthe best defensive line coach in the NFL, I believe. He\u2019ll be able to get that out of him \u2014 and I think more, even, against the run… We\u2019re excited to get this kid and work with him \u2014 because we think there\u2019s a ton of potential.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Speaking to reporters, player personnel and college scouting director Ryne Nutt defended Kansas City\u2019s choice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":51654,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\n