The Chiefs take on the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday night, and it sounds like they may be without defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott. The rookie second-round pick has easily been KC’s second-best defensive tackle behind All-Pro Chris Jones, but on Friday he wasn’t able to practice because of a shoulder injury. It’s never good when a key contributor misses time with an injury, but this one happens to come at one of KC’s most short-handed positions.

There has been a lot of talk in recent days about the Chiefs adding a big-name running back before the trade deadline. While running back is definitely a major position of need, defensive tackle isn’t far behind it. The Chiefs are overworking Chris Jones because of it, and should he get too run down, the results could be a massive problem for the Chiefs. So the team may want to consider adding a starting-caliber defensive tackle at the deadline as well.

The Chiefs have two major problems at defensive tackle

The first problem is that the Chiefs simply don’t have enough NFL talent on their roster at the position. Chris Jones has 133 pass-rushing snaps through just four games. Omarr Norman-Lott, Jerry Tillery, and Derrick Nnadi have a combined 93 snaps between them. So while Norman-Lott has been their second-best pass-rushing defensive tackle and the Chiefs desperately need him, they haven’t even been using him as much as they probably should.

The Chiefs’ snap counts seem to reflect that they don’t really trust anyone besides Jones right now, and that simply can’t continue. The hope was that Norman-Lott would grow into that role. The Chiefs now have to hope that this latest shoulder issue is a minor one and won’t set him back much, because they simply don’t have anyone else worthwhile to turn to if he’s out for an extended time.

That brings me to the second major problem: besides the lack of depth, the Chiefs’ defensive tackles just haven’t been very good. We can argue over how accurate PFF grades are, but they definitely give an impression of how a player is doing. The Chiefs’ four primary defensive tackles currently have the following grades and ranks among defensive interior players:

• Chris Jones – 57.8 grade – 75th amongst 121 DTs (despite the 12th best pass rushing grade)
• Omarr Norman-Lott – 50.2 grade – not enough snaps to qualify, but would rank 98th of 121 DTs
• Jerry Tillery – 43.7 grade – 112th amongst 121 DTs
• Derrick Nnadi – 41.0 grade – 114th amongst 121 DTs

Basically, Chris Jones is awesome at rushing the passer, and Omarr Norman-Lott has had some flashes doing the same, but everything else has been bad for the Chiefs’ defensive tackles—especially against the run.

If you’re already irritated by this situation, you may want to stop reading now.

To make matters worse, former Chief Mike Pennel, who was a surprise cut before the season started, currently ranks 54th (higher than any KC interior defensive lineman) with a 63.5 grade and has a vastly superior run grade to anyone on the Chiefs’ roster. Whether the Chiefs thought Pennel would stick around on the practice squad or believed Nnadi would be the better option, that move has clearly backfired on KC.

The Chiefs’ defense has looked good overall since their Week 1 poor showing versus the Los Angeles Chargers, but the defensive tackle play and depth behind Chris Jones are clearly one potential weak spot. If Omarr Norman-Lott can’t go against the Jaguars—or worse, misses a longer period of time—the Chiefs could find themselves with a real issue at the position and may need to make a move before the trade deadline to bring in some help.