{"id":34629,"date":"2025-10-05T23:05:17","date_gmt":"2025-10-05T23:05:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=34629"},"modified":"2025-10-05T23:06:35","modified_gmt":"2025-10-05T23:06:35","slug":"breaking-news-chiefs-defensive-tackle-problem-just-got-impossible-to-ignore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=34629","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING NEWS : \ud83d\udea8 Chiefs\u2019 Defensive Tackle Dilemma Reaches Breaking Point \u2014 What\u2019s Really Going On? \ud83d\udc40"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_165,w_4451,h_2503\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/ImagnImages\/mmsport\/130\/01k6twcyam5dc9pg6gfx.jpg\" alt=\"Sep 21, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott (55) tackles New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart (6) in the third quarter at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-0\">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&#8217;s second-best defensive tackle behind All-Pro Chris Jones, but on Friday he wasn\u2019t able to practice because of a shoulder injury. It\u2019s never good when a key contributor misses time with an injury, but this one happens to come at one of KC\u2019s most short-handed positions.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\">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\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"inline-text-2\">The Chiefs have two major problems at defensive tackle<\/h2>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\">The first problem is that the Chiefs simply don\u2019t 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\u2019t even been using him as much as they probably should.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-4\">The Chiefs\u2019 snap counts seem to reflect that they don\u2019t really trust anyone besides Jones right now, and that simply can\u2019t 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\u2019t set him back much, because they simply don\u2019t have anyone else worthwhile to turn to if he\u2019s out for an extended time.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\">That brings me to the second major problem: besides the lack of depth, the Chiefs\u2019 defensive tackles just haven\u2019t 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\u2019 four primary defensive tackles currently have the following grades and ranks among defensive interior players:<\/p>\n<ul id=\"inline-text-6\">\n<li>Chris Jones &#8211; 57.8 grade &#8211; 75th amongst 121 DTs (despite the 12th best pass rushing grade)<\/li>\n<li>Omarr Norman-Lott &#8211; 50.2 grade &#8211; not enough snaps to qualify, but would rank 98th of 121 DTs<\/li>\n<li>Jerry Tillery &#8211; 43.7 grade &#8211; 112th amongst 121 DTs<\/li>\n<li>Derrick Nnadi &#8211; 41.0 grade &#8211; 114th amongst 121 DTs<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\">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\u2019 defensive tackles\u2014especially against the run.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\">If you\u2019re already irritated by this situation, you may want to stop reading now.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\">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\u2019 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.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\">The Chiefs\u2019 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\u2019t go against the Jaguars\u2014or worse, misses a longer period of time\u2014the 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.<\/p>\n<figure><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Chiefs have had a shortage of proven talent at defensive tackle all season, but Omarr Norman-Lott&#8217;s recent injury only makes the situation more dire.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":34630,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kansas-city-chiefs"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>BREAKING NEWS : \ud83d\udea8 Chiefs\u2019 Defensive Tackle Dilemma Reaches Breaking Point \u2014 What\u2019s Really Going On? 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