Just last year, the Kansas City Chiefs spent a second-round pick on defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott out of Tennessee. It was a bit of a WTF pick at the time considering Norman-Lott was projected to go much later in the draft but the situation was what it was and OML was now a Chief.
Sadly, fans didn't get to see much from the Tennessee product during his rookie campaign, as OML was injured early in the season. He played in just five games and tallied five tackles and one sack during that time.
Chiefs fans honestly might have forgotten about Norman-Lott considering he hasn't suited up in a game since October of last year. So, it's been about a year since OML last took the field. No one would blame Chiefs fans if they said, "Oh yeah, that guy" when Norman-Lott's name was mentioned.
Just where has the former second-round pick been this season though? Well, Norman-Lott was placed on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list back in July. That kept him out of the preseason games and meant that the earliest he could return to the Chiefs' active roster is after Week 4. Considering the Chiefs' bye comes in Week 5, that'd mean Week 6 is circled on the calendar as a potential return game for Norman-Lott.
Omarr Norman-Lott could be returning to the field soon
Andy Reid was asked about the possibility of his second-round pick returning to the team soon. He was vague with his answer but still spoke about the situation.
"Yeah, potentially," Reid said. "We'll see where he's at, he's doing more right now, so, which is a positive, yeah."
Fans would have preferred a little more information on OML there but hey, it's normal for coaches to be vague about things sometimes. It's also not rare for a guy of Norman-Lott's size to take a bit to come back from injury, as he's over 300 pounds. Someone his size isn't going to recover from an injury the same way a guy Patrick Mahomes' size would.
The good news here is that, while OML isn't back on the roster yet, when he doe, he gives this pass rush another player to rotate in. Norman-Lott was always going to be a rotational guy and we've already seen what R Mason Thomas is doing as a rookie in a similar role. If the Chiefs can throw in another body there and keep guys fresh throughout the game, perhaps this unit can truly shine more than it has in recent years.
It's always disappointing when early-round draft picks don't immediately become the game-changers teams drafted them to be. There's still time for Omarr Norman-Lott to become a bigger piece in this defense though. The Chiefs simply need to be patient and make sure he's fully recovered. Once he is, hopefully the sky is the limit for him.
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