Chiefs Connected to ‘Explosive Disruptor’ With Untapped Potential: Report

The Kansas City Chiefs have rotational roles to fill on their defensive line, and former Tennessee Volunteer Omarr Norman-Lott is lined up as one of the next auditions.

“Tennessee DT Omarr Norman-Lott has been busy and in-demand, visiting the [Cincinnati] Bengals today after being with the [Cleveland] Browns yesterday,” NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport relayed on April 9. “He also has the [Buffalo] Bills and [Tennessee] Titans this week and next week, the Chiefs and [San Francisco] 49ers.”

Rapoport added that Norman-Lott “has already visited the [Atlanta] Falcons, [Chicago] Bears and [Tampa Bay] Bucs.”

When sifting through scouting reports on Norman-Lott, one thing is clear, the 6-foot-2 23-year-old has a lot of untapped potential as a pass rusher.

“Since he played limited snaps on the Vols’ heavy-rotation defensive line (20th on the team in defensive snaps in 2024), his production volume doesn’t jump out, but he led all FBS interior defensive linemen in 2024 in pass rush win rate (12.6 percent) and win percentage (18.9 percent),” The Athletic’s lead draft expert Dane Brugler noted within his comprehensive draft guide, “The Beast.”

Brugler described Norman-Lott as an “explosive disruptor” who just needs a coaching staff to “harness his energy.”

“Often the first defender to cross the line of scrimmage, Norman-Lott is a twitched-up big man with a diverse skill set to win one-on-one matchups with quickness, power or leverage,” Brugler wrote. “He uses sound hand/move fundamentals but leaves a lot of tackle production on the field and needs to play with better control.”

Potential Chiefs NFL Draft Target Omarr Norman-Lott Must Clean up His Run Defense & Discipline at the Next Level

Part of the reason Norman-Lott wasn’t always on the field at Tennessee is he has had some trouble defending the run.

Per Brugler, Norman-Lott “will need to improve his undisciplined tendencies, especially in the run game.” These issues include overcommitting on tackling angles, jumping offsides on snaps and 12 total flags over his past two seasons.

Norman-Lott also plays with a lot of emotion — which can be both a good thing and a negative.

“[He] was part of a post-game altercation against Florida (September 2023) [and was] suspended for the first half of the following game,” Brugler recalled, citing an example of negative emotion.

Similarly, The 33rd Team’s lead draft analyst Kyle Crabbs concluded that although Norman-Lott’s physical ability is evident, “his body of work possesses significant holes that need to be filled in before he is a viable every-down player.”

At the end of the day, Chiefs general manager Brett Veach likes betting on talent — as well as his coaching staff to develop said talent.

And Crabbs even predicted that Norman-Lott’s “raw physical ability will make him a tempting Day 2 option for a defense with a well-established player development pipeline on the defensive line.” That sounds a lot like Kansas City, and Norman-Lott sounds like a candidate to replace Tershawn Wharton.

Expect Chiefs to Draft Multiple Defensive Linemen in 2025

The Chiefs have minor holes to fill all across the roster, but one of the more glaring needs is D-line. That includes both defensive tackle — where Norman-Lott would likely slot in — and defensive end.

Along with Wharton, KC lost Derrick Nnadi and trade bust Joshua Uche in free agency. They did re-sign the rest of their free agents in these areas, but the outside additions have been slim.

A pair of ex-Raiders joins this collective unit. Those players are Jerry Tillery, a D-tackle, and edge defender Janarius Robinson. But there’s still room for more competition.

Expect Veach and the Chiefs to add another two defensive linemen in this year’s draft, minimum. Plus, any and all undrafted rookies who catch their attention.