KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Ashton Gillotte said it wasn’t easy rewatching tape of himself last season as a rookie.In fact, it was painful at times.“I’m being honest: I didn’t like how I looked on film,” Gillotte said Wednesday after the team’s second practice at mandatory minicamp. “That’s because I’ve always been my worst critic. But I think there’s some things I can learn from.”Gillotte — a Chiefs third-round pick in 2025 — never ended up producing the way he hoped. He played in 17 games last season with 1 1/2 sacks, but after review, he quickly realized he wasn’t moving at his typical speed.“It gets to a point sometimes where you’re just overanalyzing yourself. Last year, overthinking a lot of things,” Gillotte said. “Trying to make sure you’re doing the right things in the scheme.”The good news, as of now?Ashton Gillotte had one of his most productive games in Week 15 against the Chargers, making an interception and recording one-half of a sack. (Jay Biggerstaff / Imagn Images)Gillotte says he feels much more freedom in year two, which stems from better familiarity with the playbook.“It’s a journey. Not everyone’s journey’s going to be the same. It’s not always going to click how you want at first,” Gillotte said. “So I’m just trying to keep patience and give it up to God and let it come to fruition.”The Chiefs are likely to rely more on Gillotte here in his second season.Along with teammate George Karlaftis, Gillotte projects as a starter at defensive end should he remain healthy; he started only two contests last year, and one was in Week 18.Karlaftis, who’s entering his fifth season with the Chiefs, says he’s expecting a big season from Gillotte because of the timing. Karlaftis said he told Gillotte last season — based on his own NFL experience — that he’d seen the greatest development in his own game between years one and two.“I remember with myself, it was like, ‘Whoa, this is almost like a different game,’ if you will. So everything moves a lot faster,” Karlaftis said. “You can tell that (Gillotte) is there.”Part of Gillotte’s value for the Chiefs’ defense could be his versatility. At 6 feet 3 and 270 pounds, he has the ability to move inside to play defensive tackle on passing downs — an option that would free up All-Pro Chris Jones to shift to the edge in obvious pass situations.Gillotte also had 22 coverage snaps a year ago, per Pro Football Focus’ data, which means he’s capable of dropping back to cover space if the Chiefs go with an exotic blitz look.Both possibilities seemingly make him a great fit with defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who loves to shift his defense presnap to confuse opposing quarterbacks.“A lot is being asked of him right now, but he’s ready for it,” Karlaftis said of Gillotte. “He’s got a bright future. He’s a really good player.”Gillotte said he’s appreciated a recent infusion of youth into the defensive line room, which includes early 2026 draft picks Peter Woods and R Mason Thomas.A year ago, Gillotte was the young guy at defensive end — a position that was mostly filled with veterans such as Charles Omenihu and Mike Danna.“It’s good to have people around my age. Last year, I didn’t really have a D-end until the end of the year that was my age,” Gillotte said with a smile. “You can joke around a little bit more, be a little bit more loose. It’s less big-brothery. Now I can actually rough up with them rather than just be like, ‘Yeah, man. How’s it going? What do I need to do?'”Gillotte also believed the camaraderie of this defensive line would become evident over the next few months. He said it was already noticeable around the team facility.“It’s going to show up on the field,” Gillotte said. “We’re just more cohesive, more tight.”So what are Gillotte’s personal goals for this season? He said the main objective was to strengthen a Chiefs team with visions of winning the Super Bowl.“When you set that standard, that’s the standard we’ve got to live up to,” Gillotte said. “So whatever I can do to put my best foot forward — to put this team in the best position in however I can contribute — that’s my goal. I just want to be able to provide.”There were positive signs for Gillotte late in the season. Next Gen Stats’ data, for instance, showed that Gillotte’s two best games in terms of acceleration off the snap came in his final two outings.Now, the hope is to continue that momentum — and to take the kind of jump that Karlaftis is already envisioning.“For me, it’s, ‘OK, build, build, build, left (last season) on an up note, but can I pour onto that and keep the trajectory up?'” Gillotte said. “That’s my goal.”Here are a few other notes from Wednesday’s minicamp practice, which was open to reporters.• Quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who’s roughly six months out from knee surgery to repair a torn ACL and LCL, once again participated in installation, individual drills and seven-on-sevens while sitting out full-team work. He was also fiery during passing drills, jawing with defenders after a few passes to keep the competitiveness up.Mahomes made more headlines a few hours later, agreeing to a two-year contract extension with the Chiefs. The new pact guarantees him a total of $504.75 million, which is an NFL record.• Undrafted free-agent right tackle Kahlil Benson continues to be a camp standout, and coach Andy Reid spoke highly of him during an interview with Chiefs play-by-play announcer Mitch Holthus, which was broadcast to fans attending Wednesday’s practice.When asked about the team’s right-tackle competition ahead, Reid said Benson was “another one that has a chance at that spot.” In that interview, Reid previously spoke about Jaylon Moore, Esa Pole and Chu Godrick battling for the right-tackle vacancy.• Free-agent running back signing Kenneth Walker III had one of the top highlights, beating cornerback Kristian Fulton around the edge with his speed for a long touchdown run.• Second-year receiver Jalen Royals had a couple of red zone touchdowns late, including a tough snag in traffic that got a “Good catch, 11!” shout-out from Mahomes on the sideline.