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Every NFL Team’s Most Exciting 2025 Undrafted Free-Agent Addition | Bleacher Report
Kansas City Chiefs: OT Esa Pole
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The Kansas City Chiefs signed Jaylon Moore in free agency to possibly solve their problem at left tackle. They didn’t stop there, though, and drafted Ohio State’s Josh Simmons in this year’s first round to double-down on the premium spot.
One more talented body can’t hurt, and they also signed Washington State’s Esa Pole as an undrafted free agent.
The 6’5”, 320-pounder didn’t starting playing football until the 2022 season at Chabot College (He played basketball in high school). After transferring from junior college to Washington State, he started 22 straight games on the Cougars’ blind side. He is full of upside at a premium position, but he’s a long-term project.
“Overall, Pole is new to football with extremely raw areas of his game that are far away from being ready for the NFL,” B/R scout Brandon Thorn wrote, “but he has good size with natural mirroring skills in pass protection that give him a chance to earn a backup role at tackle or guard.”
PFF Linebacker Rankings: Top 32 ahead of the 2025 NFL season | PFF
13. Nick Bolton, Kansas City Chiefs
Even after a down season in 2024, Bolton signed a $45 million extension with the Chiefs, signaling their unwavering belief in his ability. At just 25 years old, Bolton has plenty of potential to go with four years of experience. His prowess as a run defender is his calling card, as he owns the 12th-highest run-stop rate (9.0%) since he came into the league.
If he can maintain that level of play versus the run while taking a step forward as a coverage defender, he can make the jump into the top 10.
100 days to the 2025 NFL season: Things to know, predictions | ESPN
Everyone is too afraid, so I’ll be the guy to say it: The Chiefs were 11-0 in one-score games last season, and they’re not going to pull that off again. (Right?) The defensive depth chart is pretty rough as well. They’re going to be worse in 2025. (Right?!)
Evaluating mega QB contracts, from Dak Prescott to Patrick Mahomes | FOX Sports
Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
Signed in: 2020
AAV: $45 million
Terms: 10 years, $450 million
There aren’t many athletes worth betting a half-billion dollars on, but Mahomes is one of them. He has made that clear since 2020. You know what he’s accomplished: AFC Champions Games, Super Bowls, Super Bowl MVPs.
If Mahomes hit the open market in free agency, what would an NFL team pay him: $80 million per year? Is that even enough?
So yes, the Chiefs will happily keep him for $45 million per year (or whatever number he wants) for the foreseeable future. And given how much Mahomes can make off the field, he can keep taking discounts to help his team win more Super Bowls, which will help him keep making more money off the field.
How it’s aged: Historically discounted
Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes ranks as PFF’s top starting QB going into 2025 | Chiefs Wire
For the second consecutive year, Pro Football Focus recently ranked Mahomes as the NFL’s No. 1 starting quarterback, continuing the high standard that he and the rest of the Chiefs’ players hope to live up to next season.
“Mahomes still holds the top spot, but the margin has never been slimmer. His passing grade over the past two seasons sits at 86.0, a strong number but a step below the elite level we saw from 2018 through 2022.” wrote John Kosko, “The supporting cast hasn’t always helped, particularly at receiver, but it’s fair to say his otherworldly level of play we saw from him from 2018 to 2022 is starting to get further and further away in the rearview mirror. That said, no one blends poise, playmaking, and postseason performance like Mahomes, which is why he remains at No. 1 entering 2025, even if the field is closer than ever.”
Around the NFL
2025 NFL season: Teams most under microscope 100 days out from Kickoff Game | NFL.com
Most needs Super Bowl win
Buffalo Bills
The Bills have come achingly close to supplanting the Chiefs for AFC supremacy, losing in the conference championship game to Kansas City twice in the last five seasons. The championship window will be wide open as long as Josh Allen is in uniform, but eventually Buffalo has to get over the finish line to avoid looking back on this era with the same angst generated by those four consecutive Super Bowl losses more than 30 years ago. The Bills spent most of the offseason focused on shoring up their defense, which was necessary in a conference teeming with superstar quarterbacks, and they will have a very manageable schedule, with six of their first seven games against teams that didn’t make the playoffs last season.
Honorable mention: Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, Los Angeles Chargers.
Sean McDermott: James Cook will be here when he’s ready to be here | NBC Sports
Cook has been away from all of the team’s voluntary work this offseason as he looks for a new contract and he remains away from the team this week. Head coach Sean McDermott said that Cook is the only player on the roster who did not come to Tuesday’s session and that the team continues to communicate with him while he’s working out on his own.
“We’re staying in touch . . . James will be here when he’s ready to be here and we move forward,” McDermott said, via Dan Fetes of WHAM.
The only mandatory work for the Bills in the offseason is a three-day minicamp that gets underway on June 10. Cook would be subject to fines if he does not report at that point and indications from the team have been that they won’t be signing him to a new deal at this point, so the running back may have a decision to make next month.
In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride
Chiefs Roster: How Kansas City is helping Chris Jones in 2025
In the run game, you have to take on two 300-pound linemen flying into you. On top of all this, Jones is the source of the Chiefs’ pass rush and faces constant double teams and slides. And despite all of this, Jones has excelled.
That being said, Jones is now going into his age-31 season. We’re approaching the post-peak part of his career. That’s not a knock on Jones, but it’s an inevitability of the league. Not only will Jones experience some natural physical decline in his athleticism, but injuries will also start to become a factor. The NFL schedule is a bloodbath, and expecting Jones to continue to be the best defensive tackle in the league while playing all those snaps would be unfair.
To be clear, I’m not predicting Jones to all of a sudden fall off; I still expect Jones to be the best defensive tackle in the league this season. However, I’ve felt for several years that the Chiefs needed to build a deeper defensive line to help Jones, particularly in the defensive tackle room. I’ve wanted the Chiefs to approach building their defensive line more like the Houston Texans and Philadelphia Eagles, who have seven or eight defensive linemen who can rotate in and give you production. The Chiefs haven’t built their team in that way.
However, I do feel the Chiefs took steps in the right direction in the draft. Defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott and defensive end Ashton Gillotte are indications that the Chiefs plan to build a deeper rotation moving forward.
Norman-Lott’s presence will directly help Jones. Norman-Lott profiles well as a 3-technique. Norman-Lott is unique with how few snaps he played in college, but on film, he’s a dynamic pass rusher. His quickness and agility, combined with his pass rush moves, are exciting.
