First look at Omarr Norman-Lott and his possible new role for the Chiefs.

Omarr Norman-Lott played his first game in the NFL this past weekend and we got our first glimpse at what his somewhat surprising role could be for the Chiefs.

The Kansas City Chiefs played their first pre-season game this past weekend, coming up just short against the Arizona Cardinals 17-20. This game not only kickstarts the “real football” for fans to enjoy but also offers a glimpse into the new additions — both signings and rookies — for all to see. There is no reason to overreact in any direction to a singular game but it does allow us to start to build out some expectations for what could be coming in this upcoming season.

There’s a bunch of directions we can really focus in on from this game; Josh Simmons, Tyquan Thornton, Jaylon Moore, etc.. but this week I want to really dive into the Chiefs’ second-round rookie Omarr Norman-Lott. In his first action, Normal-Lott saw a singular snap with the starting defense and then was a main part of the defensive tackle rotation for the second and third team defense. He’s also caught some attention lately for undergoing a body composition change and sparked some curiosity to how the Chiefs plan to deploy him this season.

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With that in mind, let’s jump into Omarr Norman-Lott’s potential role with this team and how he fared in his first action.

Omarr Norman-Lott Tape Breakdown

What is his role?

This conversation needs to start with the obvious: Norman-Lott has added weight since being drafted by the Chiefs. There have been various reports ranging from 10lbs up to 30lbs but regardless of the number, it’s visually evident he has added mass to his frame. Basic logic says that makes sense, as he’ll need to play more shade (NT) in order to be on the field at the same time as Chris Jones. This was all but confirmed by Dave Cullen during a presser yesterday with the quote "He [Omarr Norman-Lott] will play both 3-tech and shade for the team… he’s playing a bit heavier than he did in college.”

Again, this follows basic logic but it did come as a little surprise given Norman-Lott’s college usage was as a rotational rusher. He was rarely used on run downs for Arizona State or Tennessee. Even from a traits-based approach, he was a better pass rusher than run defender, so seeing him add weight that could diminish the former in hopes to bolster the latter is an interesting call. Let’s see how that played out in his first game.

Run Defense

If there has been a push to add weight and improve as a run defender, why not start there?

Norman-Lott played about a third of his snaps aligned inside of an offensive guard — ranging from a 2i to a true shade tackle — which also backs up what Cullen was saying above. In these limited reps, we saw him defend a variety of different run concepts and do it in a variety of different ways. One of the bigger, pleasant surprises was how well he was able to anchor and take up space along the line of scrimmage.