While the Kansas City Chiefs continue their offseason, the team took one last snapshot of its past campaign.

This week, the organization celebrated its team awards for 2025-26. Recipients of the “Derrick Thomas Award” (team MVP), “Ed Block Courage Award” and “Mack Lee Hill Award” (Rookie of the Year) were all announced on Saturday.

To no one’s surprise, Kansas City’s January 24 release featured quarterback Patrick Mahomes as MVP. Defensive end George Karlaftis‘ competitive spirit and sportsmanship earned him the Block honor. The Chiefs’ pick for top first-year player, as voted on by the team itself, may not be who many had in mind.

Ashton Gillotte Named Chiefs’ Mack Lee Hill Rookie of the Year

Fellow defensive end Ashton Gillotte wound up taking home the accolade.

This rook made a statement this season! @AshtonGillotte pic.twitter.com/um3im3cWi3

— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) January 24, 2026

Gillotte, a third-round 2025 NFL Draft pick, played in all 17 regular-season games as a rookie. Logging 485 defensive snaps and another 76 on special teams, he was a trusted contributor all year long. The Louisville product’s debut campaign saw him record 38 tackles (3 for loss) with 1.5 sacks, a pass breakup and an interception.

To kick off January, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo tipped his cap to Gillotte.

“I thought Ashton has been and hopefully will continue to be on a trajectory that’s going upward,” Spagnuolo said. “It would’ve been nice to maybe get more reps in early — we were rotating guys — but I think he’s getting plenty towards the end here. I think that will help him going forward.”

Here are the last five winners of the Mack Lee Hill Award:

• 2024: WR Xavier Worthy
• 2023: WR Rashee Rice
• 2022: RB Isiah Pacheco
• 2021: LB Nick Bolton
• 2020: RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire

Given that Charles Omenihu is a pending free agent, that could free up playing time for Gillotte as a sophomore. Not only that, but it’s easy to wonder whether the Chiefs will get out of Mike Danna‘s contract. The veteran D-lineman can be released and free up $8.94 million in cap space while incurrent just $2.17M in dead money, via Over The Cap.

The Day 2 selection could become even more important down the road.

Did Kansas City Make the Right Choice for First-Year Team Honor?

Did Gillotte deserve the Mack Lee Hill Award compared to his peers? That’s up for interpretation. His sack total was tied for eighth on the team. According to Pro Football Focus, he graded out as the No. 87 overall edge player and the 114th-ranked one for run defense. Among all rookies at his position during the regular season, his 24 pressures were seventh.

There’s no denying that Gillotte had a year to build on. It was a respectable effort for a first-year man. It is worth deciphering, though, whether a pair of other rookies perhaps should’ve gotten player-voted buzz for the award.

Sticking on the defensive side of the ball, cornerback Nohl Williams also appeared in every regular-season game. In those contests, he had 48 tackles (4 for loss) and 7 pass breakups. In coverage, he surrendered an impressive 82.9 passer rating and a 52.5% completion clip. The cherry on top was PFF ranking him 15th among all cornerbacks with a 74.5 composite grade. He was between 11th and 19th in coverage, run defense, and pass rushing alike.

First-round left tackle Josh Simmons, despite playing only eight games, was good enough to have his name thrown into the hat. In 526 offensive snaps, the Ohio State product was remarkably effective as a pass protector. On top of his 18 total pressures ceded, Simmons’ 75.5 pass blocking grade sat 25th out of 89 qualified tackles in the PFF database. He’s earned the title of left tackle of the future.

It isn’t that Gillotte didn’t do enough to head into the offseason with his head held high. It’s that a couple of other first-year Chiefs managed to star on the field.