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

[Dante84]

More to come!

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

[Coochie liquor]

Originally Posted by Hog's Gone Fishin

I'm gonna look on Amazon to see if there's a book. 'How to rush the passer"

Instead please look up “How to Rush the Wood Chipper”

[JPH83]

If I was being hyper critical I'd say my two concerns are 1) I know we have some DE depth, but I don't think it's all that good, so it's a shame FAU hasn't managed to squeeze in more snaps. That said, is he likely to be immediately better than the guys playing, probably not, so maybe not a great surprise. And 2) one of the plus sides in his draft evaluation across the board was that he had quite a well developed pass-rush plan and a complete set of tools. So maybe there's a little less growth available there.

I still think the best counter is he's young, so he should have time to develop physically, and you can always improve your repertoire and technique. Plus even if our DEs aren't all that, they have experience coaches trust. So I reckon year 3 to see what we've really got. Just need to be patient...and I'll need to remind myself next year.

[Chargem]

Very weird perspective in this thread.

The Chiefs should aspire to have a roster so deep that they don't need multiple draft picks to have an impact from their 1st game. The fact we needed to last year shows how bad the roster had gotten from all the winning and picking late constantly, combined with moves trading premium picks away.

FAU's contribution so far this year is nothing to do with him as a player and how deep we are at DE after signing Omenihu in the offseason.

My take away from this pick is that the board didn't fall how they wanted in the 1st round and they didn't quite get what they wanted as options, so they defaulted to taking a young talent at a premium decision. That doesn't mean FAU is a bust or a bad player. If he was capable of beating out experienced NFL DEs in year one, he wouldn't have been there at 31. That doesn't mean he won't be an impact player over his 5 year rookie contract.

[Chargem]

Originally Posted by JPH83

I still think the best counter is he's young, so he should have time to develop physically, and you can always improve your repertoire and technique. Plus even if our DEs aren't all that, they have experience coaches trust. So I reckon year 3 to see what we've really got. Just need to be patient...and I'll need to remind myself next year.

There's a pretty hard limit on 100% effort full pad snaps a DE gets in the league in training. I have much more faith in a guy adding effective strength/power from the weightroom in his early career than I have him developing good technique.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Chargem

Very weird perspective in this thread.

The Chiefs should aspire to have a roster so deep that they don't need multiple draft picks to have an impact from their 1st game. The fact we needed to last year shows how bad the roster had gotten from all the winning and picking late constantly, combined with moves trading premium picks away.

FAU's contribution so far this year is nothing to do with him as a player and how deep we are at DE after signing Omenihu in the offseason.

My take away from this pick is that the board didn't fall how they wanted in the 1st round and they didn't quite get what they wanted as options, so they defaulted to taking a young talent at a premium decision. That doesn't mean FAU is a bust or a bad player. If he was capable of beating out experienced NFL DEs in year one, he wouldn't have been there at 31. That doesn't mean he won't be an impact player over his 5 year rookie contract.

I agree with all of this.

I also hate the “he’s a first-round pick, gotta
Contribute right away!” thought.

When you’re picking at 32, you’re likely NOT picking a player with a first-round grade around the league. You’re probably somewhere between 6-10 players past consensus first rounder territory.

[RealSNR]

There's really not much he can do. The only way he can get on the field is if Spags puts him in the game. And if Spags wants to move him along slowly as a pseudo-redshirt year, then that's what's going to happen.

I really don't think it's anything of a shortcoming of his. Had he been drafted in Karlaftis's year, I think he would have seen those snaps. The team has the luxury of playing some veterans who don't need their snaps monitored (like we did with Dunlap).

That's literally exactly what happened to Mahomes his rookie year. So basically just wait a goddamn ****ing year before you start listing concerns you have with him.

[Chris Meck]

Literally the only reasonable critique of FAU as of right now is that we don't know what he is yet.

That's it.

There's no reason to have any feelings either way about it. If you do, it says more about your general mindset than any actual reality.

[staylor26]

Originally Posted by JPH83

If I was being hyper critical I'd say my two concerns are 1) I know we have some DE depth, but I don't think it's all that good, so it's a shame FAU hasn't managed to squeeze in more snaps. That said, is he likely to be immediately better than the guys playing, probably not, so maybe not a great surprise. And 2) one of the plus sides in his draft evaluation across the board was that he had quite a well developed pass-rush plan and a complete set of tools. So maybe there's a little less growth available there.

I still think the best counter is he's young, so he should have time to develop physically, and you can always improve your repertoire and technique. Plus even if our DEs aren't all that, they have experience coaches trust. So I reckon year 3 to see what we've really got. Just need to be patient...and I'll need to remind myself next year.

Karlaftis, Omenihu, and Danna "aren't all that good"?

They have a combined 20 sacks, and that's with Omenihu missing 6 ****ing games.

And that's also ignoring the fact that Chris Jones is part of that DE rotation, and gets his fair share from that spot too.

Also, he's 21 years old with more athletic upside than Karlaftis has. Are we really questioning his room for growth?

[BigRedChief]

It seems to be accepted fact that Veach did try to move up to get someone. No one wanted to deal. So he took the best 2nd rounder that was available that they had their eye on. The picks success, meh or fail is still TBD.

[Chris Meck]

As with a lot of arguments on CP, there are a couple of things at play.

A lot of people see first rounders as immediate impact picks. Yeah, okay, but the reality is that in any one draft, there are only 15-20 TRUE first round talents. And some of those don't play big impact positions. So no, if you're drafting at #30 or below, you're not getting an immediate impact stud.

There's a general rush to negativity, as if there's some prize for being the first one to declare a decision A MISTAKE, as if that somehow is an indication of wisdom, and anyone who disagrees is a HOMER.

And finally, there's the unfair advantage of HINDSIGHT, in which one can point to an NFL player who's outplayed their draft position, and declare that SHOULD have been the pick, and how stupid The Chiefs must be to have picked like...Mecole Hardman instead of DK Metcalf. This ignores all of the red flags and concerns about a specific player pre-draft. You can also see this in play right now, as Pickens is showing exactly why a team like KC didn't want to draft him. The fact that Skyy Moore has been a disappointment had half the board clamoring for Veach's head while Pickens was putting up numbers-but now we see who Pickens really is and that choir is remarkably silent.

[JPH83]

Originally Posted by staylor26

Karlaftis, Omenihu, and Danna "aren't all that good"?

They have a combined 20 sacks, and that's with Omenihu missing 6 ****ing games.

And that's also ignoring the fact that Chris Jones is part of that DE rotation, and gets his fair share from that spot too.

Also, he's 21 years old with more athletic upside than Karlaftis has. Are we really questioning his room for growth?

I don't think any of them indivudually are all that good no. Depends on your definition of "good". Danna has been great for his role and amazing value, but is limited. Karlaftis has, imo, improved a little on last year but has a good way to go to be a higher end DE, Omenihu has flashed some decent pass rushing but has been poor against the run and a horrible tackler. There's plenty of good aspects in isolation, but none of them individually are "good". By that i mean, I dunno, a top 30 DE maybe?

I'm not questioning FAU's room for growth, I said exactly the same in that post. He's 21, plenty of room, and I think we need patience the first 2 years.

[Couch-Potato]

Considering FAU is currently a mystery, are you taking DEs Latu or Verse if they fall to us in the draft? Would be tempting IMO.

[staylor26]

Originally Posted by JPH83

I don't think any of them indivudually are all that good no. Depends on your definition of "good". Danna has been great for his role and amazing value, but is limited. Karlaftis has, imo, improved a little on last year but has a good way to go to be a higher end DE, Omenihu has flashed some decent pass rushing but has been poor against the run and a horrible tackler. There's plenty of good aspects in isolation, but none of them individually are "good". By that i mean, I dunno, a top 30 DE maybe?

I'm not questioning FAU's room for growth, I said exactly the same in that post. He's 21, plenty of room, and I think we need patience the first 2 years.

Karlaftis is on the verge of double digit sacks in his sophomore season, and you're saying he "improved a little on last year"?

Look dude, I don't at all think you're in that whiny little bitch crowd, you're mostly neutral and balance some of us homers out, but sometimes you're just oddly harsh.

You've been particularly harsh on Karlaftis for example, and it's just really weird. I don't get it.

[staylor26]

Originally Posted by Couch-Potato

Considering FAU is currently a mystery, are you taking DEs Latu or Verse if they fall to us in the draft? Would be tempting IMO.

Tempting? Sure.

But ultimately, I'm just not going in that direction. That would make 3 straight years drafting an EDGE in the 1st. With our need for weapons, I just don't think we can afford that luxury.

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by Couch-Potato

Considering FAU is currently a mystery, are you taking DEs Latu or Verse if they fall to us in the draft? Would be tempting IMO.

Sure I’m not against continuing to draft DL with high picks, but guess what they’re probably going to do their rookie years? About as much as Felix. They’re going to sit and come off the bench occasionally. Single digit sack seasons.

You take them if you believe in them as great players, not because we chose to sit our previous draft pick at that position during his rookie year