*****The Felix Anudike-Uzomah Thread*****

[Dante84]

More to come!

Spoiler!

The call to @fanudike has us tearing up �� pic.twitter.com/bJryHPc8S1

— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) April 29, 2023

A hyphenated name? He'll fit right in �� pic.twitter.com/wOzKMPdzyx

— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) April 28, 2023

Kansas City selects K-State EDGE Felix Unudike-Uzomah 31st overall

�� 89 QB pressures since 2021 (1st among Big 12 defenders) pic.twitter.com/2ZIClLVyXf

— PFF College (@PFF_College) April 28, 2023

Here’s a first look at your newest Kansas City Chief, @fanudike. pic.twitter.com/P0T2q0UFmG

— KC Sports Network (@KCSportsNetwork) April 28, 2023

Felix Anudike-Uzomah was drafted with pick 31 of round 1 in the 2023 draft class. He scored a 8.73 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 209 out of 1634 DE from 1987 to 2023. https://t.co/maz03OdBwq pic.twitter.com/xoMJ9ki2Pv

— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 28, 2023

Veach said the #Chiefs had 16-18 players with first round grades and Felix was one of them.

Also said a couple AFC teams weren’t interested in trading with Kansas City.

Naturally.

— PJ Green (@PJGreenTV) April 28, 2023

Felix Anudike-Uzomah, just now: "I got drafted by literally my favorite team growing up."

— Nate Taylor (@ByNateTaylor) April 28, 2023

[Coach]

Originally Posted by Coach

You are not wrong, his weakness is the run, but that's to be expected as he only played 2 full seasons at Kansas State. But his pass-rush toolbox is definitely advanced for his age and has a high motor.

His best position appears to be when he is aligned on the outside shoulder of the tackle. That's his strength. His effectiveness does decrease if he has to play inside shoulder of the tackle.

Overall, if the Chiefs keep him as strictly an outside edge with an occasional inside on obvious 3rd and long passing downs, I think he'll do just fine in Spags aggressive scheme.

When he came to Kansas State, he was a scrawny kid at 220.

Some guys just take some time. As long as they are progressing in the right direction, it will work out one way or another. I knew he would be a liability on the run game early on, so hopefully he spent time in the S&C to get up to a good weight without sacrificing his 10 second burst.

[Bump]

I do hope we don't draft any more projects that need 3 or 4 years to git gud in the 1st and 2nd rounds.

[ThyKingdomCome15]

He's not a good fit in this system. When he was drafted he was touted as the pass rusher with the widest variety of moves. In Spags defense so often he just asks edge rushers to contain the running QB. Not to mention he's simply not an explosive player or versatile like Mike Danna.

Conclusion: I think he'd do better in system that better suits utilizes his skill set but he's shown little to justify his first round selection. It's sad.

[Yo Murphy.]

Originally Posted by ThyKingdomCome15

He's not a good fit in this system. When he was drafted he was touted as the pass rusher with the widest variety of moves. In Spags defense so often he just asks edge rushers to contain the running QB. Not to mention he's simply not an explosive player or versatile like Mike Danna.

Conclusion: I think he'd do better in system that better suits utilizes his skill set but he's shown little to justify his first round selection. It's sad.

Translation: Another wasted 1st rd pick. Trade value cant be great.

[Chargem]

That sack where he cornered perfectly and took down the QB in a one on one with the left tackle gave me hope

[JPH83]

He'll be fine, I'm still cautiously optimistic, but I also really don't think Spags cares for, or has any interest in, utilising his actual skillset. As opposed to just turning him into another "versatile" jack-of-all-trades type.

[Chris Meck]

Originally Posted by Bump

I do hope we don't draft any more projects that need 3 or 4 years to git gud in the 1st and 2nd rounds.

We've missed on a couple of guys, it's true. And Clyde might've been a hit, but that injury sure seemed to sap whatever juice he had.

but in general, you have to accept that sure-fire, no doubt, day one starter, plus players are gone by pick #31 or #32.

It's just the way it is. What you're left with is guys with potential, or guys that have flaws you're hoping you can coach out.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by ThyKingdomCome15

He's not a good fit in this system. When he was drafted he was touted as the pass rusher with the widest variety of moves. In Spags defense so often he just asks edge rushers to contain the running QB. Not to mention he's simply not an explosive player or versatile like Mike Danna.

Conclusion: I think he'd do better in system that better suits utilizes his skill set but he's shown little to justify his first round selection. It's sad.

I don't agree that he's not a good fit.

He was simply way further away than I realized (and probably many others) and rather than play the slice, the Chiefs just kinda buried him.

I would've thought they'd have used him as a package player to try to get some value out of him while trying to mold him into someone that was stronger at contact and could be both a quicker edge rusher AND someone who was powerful at the point of attack.

They just didn't. It's similar to some of what they've done with the young WRs. Rather than pigeonhole them in roles early on, they kinda push them down the depth chart and try to continue with the 'know everyone's job' thing until they're nearly fully formed.

Theonly thing that changes that plan appears to be need. If they just run out of bodies, they'll put the rookies out there before they're done cookin'.

I think we'll see FAU's role here continue to expand next year and it may be a Saunders sort of situation where we really don't get the best version of him until he's a FA. It'll suck, but it's better than a bust.

He's not a bust. He's not a poor fit. He just wasn't turnkey.

[RunKC]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

I don't agree that he's not a good fit.

He was simply way further away than I realized (and probably many others) and rather than play the slice, the Chiefs just kinda buried him.

I would've thought they'd have used him as a package player to try to get some value out of him while trying to mold him into someone that was stronger at contact and could be both a quicker edge rusher AND someone who was powerful at the point of attack.

They just didn't. It's similar to some of what they've done with the young WRs. Rather than pigeonhole them in roles early on, they kinda push them down the depth chart and try to continue with the 'know everyone's job' thing until they're nearly fully formed.

Theonly thing that changes that plan appears to be need. If they just run out of bodies, they'll put the rookies out there before they're done cookin'.

I think we'll see FAU's role here continue to expand next year and it may be a Saunders sort of situation where we really don't get the best version of him until he's a FA. It'll suck, but it's better than a bust.

He's not a bust. He's not a poor fit. He just wasn't turnkey.

I remember Terez talking about training camp when Dorsey was here and they picked KeiVarae Russell. They loved him and thought he’d be an immediate role player, then he wasn’t that guy at camp. He was overly cocky to the point of pissing off the veterans repeatedly and he sucked. He just couldn’t play like they thought, so they cut him before camp was over.

It happens. I think the same thing happened with Kamal Hadden just last year. Got beat out by Christian Roland-Wallace.

I think this is a trend with Spags. He’s not gonna put you on the field if you can’t stop the run. We saw that with Uche. He just doesn’t like the smaller rushers. I think Felix’s lack of development there was why they brought back Danna. Felix was pretty bad on run defense as a rookie but I think he’s gotten quite a bit better. I thought he looked much better there this year.

Still think he has potential to be a 5-7 sack guy I this defense, but I hope it won’t limit them from taking a DE like Nic Scourton in the first rd.

[RealSNR]

These are just snapshots, yes, but he's had two or three notable tackles for loss (on run plays or QB-designed run plays) in the playoffs the past two years.

Seems to me like if that's what we're waiting on him to show, he's certainly capable of doing what they need him to do. At the very least, he's shown flashes of doing that job.

[Dunerdr]

The guy flashed given the opportunity. I think its time to give him more run.

[OKchiefs]

Originally Posted by RealSNR

Khalen Saunders was nothing until his last season with us.

We got FAU when he was 21. Some guys need time.

He can be a fine player. I’ll take it

What's this obsession with super young players if it takes them forever to peak? It's not like he's some athletic freak either, so his ceiling is still fairly low. Also, Khalen Saunders was taken at the end of the 3rd rd where you'd expect for a player to maybe take a few years to develop, not really a great comparison to a 1st rd pick.

[OKchiefs]

Originally Posted by Chris Meck

We've missed on a couple of guys, it's true. And Clyde might've been a hit, but that injury sure seemed to sap whatever juice he had.

but in general, you have to accept that sure-fire, no doubt, day one starter, plus players are gone by pick #31 or #32.

It's just the way it is. What you're left with is guys with potential, or guys that have flaws you're hoping you can coach out.

Of course sure-fire, no doubt, day one starters are hard to come by at that point in the draft. Xavier Worthy wasn't that but he showed a clear progression throughout the season and showed the promise that he is ready for an even larger role in year 2 and beyond.

FAU simply didn't - that's fine, busts happen. We don't have to offer excuses though. It wasn't a great pick, particularly in light of the players taken immediately after him.

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by OKchiefs

What's this obsession with super young players if it takes them forever to peak? It's not like he's some athletic freak either, so his ceiling is still fairly low. Also, Khalen Saunders was taken at the end of the 3rd rd where you'd expect for a player to maybe take a few years to develop, not really a great comparison to a 1st rd pick.

Obsession? WTF?

It's just reality, dude. Some players don't get it instantly. Obviously the Chiefs would have preferred that Felix was a better player earlier in his career.

But when you get a guy like that, some peoples' mindset around here is to just cut him instantly if he can't live up to his 1st round billing in the first two seasons.

[RunKC]

Originally Posted by OKchiefs

What's this obsession with super young players if it takes them forever to peak? It's not like he's some athletic freak either, so his ceiling is still fairly low. Also, Khalen Saunders was taken at the end of the 3rd rd where you'd expect for a player to maybe take a few years to develop, not really a great comparison to a 1st rd pick.

McDuffie, Bolton and Karlaftis were 21 when we drafted them. Worthy was 20 the day we drafted him.

Worked well previously. No GM bats a thousand