Every year, NFL teams witness unheralded first-year players developing into valuable contributors. It oftentimes takes months, especially for contenders like the Kansas City Chiefs.
One player from the club’s Day 2 NFL Draft crop is already standing out. Defensive end Ashton Gillotte garnered plenty of praise despite an abbreviated Week 1.
Chiefs Rookie DE Ashton Gillotte Praised Early in Debut Campaign
Speaking to the media on Thursday, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said the Louisville product deserves more snaps. If not for an elbow injury suffered against the Los Angeles Chargers, he’d have gotten on the field more already.
“Yeah, absolutely,” Spagnuolo said. “You guys wouldn’t have been out for one-on-ones yesterday, right? We did them a little later in practice, but I thought he did a really nice job in one-on-ones. He got that elbow, otherwise I think he would’ve had more plays in the game. We’ll keep trying to gear him up.”
This marks the second time in the month of September that Spagnuolo has had good things to say about Gillotte. The cap-tipping didn’t stop there. Defensive tackle Chris Jones is also a fan of the third-round pick.
“He’s coming along,” Jones said. “You know, he’s still young so we can’t put too much responsibility on Ashton. But everything we’ve asked him, he’s done well. I think he’ll continue to get better throughout the year.”
Gillotte, a sturdy end with excellent athletic scores, was solid during the preseason. He parlayed that into a strong regular-season debut, even with just nine snaps played. In those reps, he logged a pressure and posted a healthy 65.1 Pro Football Focus pass rush grade. Among all players on the Chiefs’ defensive front, that figure ranked first. Gillotte finished with one assisted tackle on Friday night.
Kansas City’s Defensive Line Must Improve on Poor Week 1 Showing
To be fair to the Chiefs, Joe Alt is a phenomenal offensive tackle. Penetrating the Chargers’ front five is easier said than done. With that in mind, it’d be unfair to not mention the absence of star Rashawn Slater. Kansas City failed to get much pressure on quarterback Justin Herbert, who promptly turned in one of his best games as a pro.
The Chiefs played an undisciplined and ineffective brand of football up front. It culminated with Herbert icing the game on a play that saw All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones lose contain and get (rightfully) barked at for it. Advanced stats backed up the struggles, too. In ESPN’s team win rates for pass rush wins and run stops, Spagnuolo’s group ranked 21st and 25th, respectively, in Week 1.
Simply put, that won’t cut it this Sunday. However much difficulty Kansas City had to begin the year, a similar effort would lead to even worse results. The Philadelphia Eagles boast a great collection of talent. This much is known by the Chiefs, and it doesn’t take a trip too far back in time to recall it.
Maybe the solution is Jones living up to his paycheck. There’s a chance the real answer is somewhere in the middle, signaling the importance of others like Charles Omenihu and Mike Danna. George Karlaftis was about the only prominent snap-getter who showed up in Week 1.
Gillotte came to play, but only time will tell if the praise turns into a more significant workload.
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