Over the past year, the Kansas City Chiefs have made three significant additions to their defensive end group. They drafted George Carlaftis in the first round of 2022 — and then, in March, signed former San Francisco 49ers hybrid end/ tackle Charles Omeniho to a two-year deal. Then over the weekend they used another first-round pick to get in on the action Kansas State Potential EDGE Anodic Felix-Uzuma.
These three are now joined by Mike Dana – a solid lineman who can do a little bit of everything – and developmental players such as Joshua Kindo, Malik Herring and fifth-round pick PJ Thompson.
Of all these players, Anudike-Uzomah has the highest cap. He is the player most capable of becoming a treadmill staple and is a legitimate asset against both the run and the pass. Although he hasn’t quite gotten there yet, he has the tools to live up to that expectation.
Let’s take a look at his college film in 2021 and 2022:
Rushing pass from the edge
With the Wildcats, Anudike-Uzomah lined up outside offensive tackle on just 72% of his snaps – meaning he wasn’t always in an aligned position where he had the advantage to rush around the edge. He had to play a lot of snaps either at the head of (or inside) the offensive tackle, which restricted where he could continue passing passes.
When he had the wide alignment advantage, he sought a win quickly around the edge, climbed onto the outside tackle’s shoulder and tried to win with the crouch.
Felix Anudike-Uzomah has an impressively flexible body for being well-built and long-lived.
His long levers help him curve around the outside, but he does a great job of bringing his hips through his upper body to turn the corner just right. pic.twitter.com/rlcm7cgc1I
—Ron Kopp Jr. (Ron_Kopp) May 2, 2023
While Anudike-Uzomah gets the ball down quickly, he doesn’t get shot from a cannon either. It snaps well, but it’s its flexibility and level of cushioning that allow it to win around the edge. He has a smooth transition from passing the hurdler’s hands away to dipping under the hurdler’s outside shoulder.
He also brings his hips with him through the turn. Some people who lunge over the edge will bring their upper body past the hurdle, but then fail to bring their whole body forward. This makes them unbalanced – and usually washes them out of the play. Anudike-Uzomah naturally puts his whole body out, which can result in penalties when blockers are half a step behind.
Threatening the FAU around the rim naturally opens up interior space for the meter’s moves away from the rush of speed.
His long swimming arm motion is effective because of how smoothly he transitions from the outside to the inside collision pic.twitter.com/xaZPnTWEls
—Ron Kopp Jr. (Ron_Kopp) May 2, 2023
Anudike-Uzomah’s lunge on the outside sets up his counter move on the inside: a long arm turns to swim back inward toward the middle. It’s menacing enough around the rim to open up the interior to make the action work—and it has great balance. It does not respond from within and gets out of control. Instead, he stays afloat while driving through the barriers.
When FAU is tasked with selling and breaching a gap, it flies with good cushion level and good leg drive, and creates a breakout
Whether it’s against a running back or on a trick pass, he has the ability to take off and the power to cause disruption pic.twitter.com/6F1IleUk40
—Ron Kopp Jr. (Ron_Kopp) May 2, 2023
The same leg drive comes when he’s doing a stunt indoors. When asked, he is very effective at selling through an inside gap to create the breakout. He is comfortable going through a guard or center. If needed, he could use the combined momentum to push them into the middle.
Withstand running
At Kansas State, Anudike-Uzomah did more than just rush off the rim. Although not the ideal size for a player playing inside or over the opposition, he held up in the trenches.
At K-State, FAU had to hold out in the trenches because they played nearly 30% of their shots over or inside the OT (PFF)
Shows good awareness as a running defender, observing the ball and tracking the ball through tackles, as well as throwing blocks for the purpose of pic.twitter.com/iQWu0vzjGV
—Ron Kopp Jr. (Ron_Kopp) May 2, 2023
He usually made up for his lack of size by using a good cushion level and well-timed mattresses so he could be the first to bring a punch when engaging the blocks. Once engaged, he remained aware of the ball-carrier position – just as we see in this play. Eyes raised, Anodic-Uzuma watches toward the ball, shooting blocks to make the play.
It wouldn’t be too easy to knock off the blocks of an NFL offensive lineman – but in these casts, Anuduike-Uzomah’s balance is impressive. He doesn’t play too high or low, which allows him to stay up through the blocks and fight through them.
FAU also moves well in space for its size. Not only is he down to chase the run to the other side, he has the athleticism to change direction and make plays in the flats pic.twitter.com/43fc5HWR6Y
—Ron Kopp Jr. (Ron_Kopp) May 2, 2023
He’s also just about as good an athlete as he is for his position, boasting an ability to make plays on the flat—or stalk a running back from the backside of a running back. It’s not just his descent that gets him somewhere in a hurry; He can change direction in the open field to make a play.
Although he has collegiate experience in the trenches, he may still need to improve his playing strength in order to consistently outlast the next level run. He has the technique and the body control — but in college, he still had reps where it was physically exhausting.
bottom line
In recent years, former Kansas City defensive end Frank Clark has served as the team’s lighter and more athletic defensive end. Anudike-Uzomah projects to fill this role.
In the short term, he can provide some of the rushing rush that Clarke has contributed to in recent seasons, complementing the team’s power rush. In the long run, we could see Anoki-Ozuma develop into the running fullback that Clarke was, using his incredible leverage and balance to always stay in the center.
Overall, I’m seeing the Chiefs’ first-round pick develop into exactly the player he’s been craving since Clark’s peak in 2019: a three-point defensive end. Anudike-Uzomah may not be around on day one – but unlike the other defensive linemen on the list, he has the tools to get there.