Charles Omenihu film review: Meet the Chiefs' newest defensive lineman

Reviewing multiple games of a long, powerful pass rusher to see where he fits with Kansas City's defense.

Free agency is the gift that keeps on giving.

And by that, I mean, it’s the time of year where I get to review film of new players, and that’s always a hoot and a half. Oh and it’s also the time of year when teams look to shore up weak spots on their roster as they prepare for the draft. But mostly, it’s a time I get to review film of new players.

Earlier this week I walked through multiple games of new Chiefs LT Jawaan Taylor, who impressed me with his quick feet and natural pass protection ability. He was brought in to replace Orlando Brown Jr. And now, the Chiefs have made another “replacement” signing, this time looking to fill some of the snaps snaps from multiple departed players in Frank Clark, Carlos Dunlap, and Khalen Saunders.

How do you try to replace that many snaps? Well, you can’t. But you can get a great start by grabbing a guy who can line up anywhere and has shown a proclivity for getting after the quarterback. A guy like Charles Omenihu.

Omenihu, a 5th round pick in 2019, is coming off his most productive season as a pro after joining the 49ers in 2021. While his 4.5 sacks don’t pop out, the fact that he collected another 16 hits is intriguing (keeping in mind that sack numbers are less predictive than pressures/hits). He was rewarded with a decent, though not terribly large, 2 year deal from the Chiefs that maxes out at $20 million over 2 years but has a base of $16 million over 2 years.

Omenihu is an interesting addition to the Chiefs’ defense. He’s got good size and length, which makes him a fit for Spagnuolo’s defense, and also tests out as solid athlete. Spags’ specialty is big, long, physical defensive linemen who move better than one might expect and can line up all over. And at 6’5”, 280 pounds, Omenihu fits the bill.

Of course, numbers and physical measurements don’t tell us the story. They never do, after all. What does his film show?

To answer that, I reviewed every snap by Omenihu in 5 games from 2022 to get an idea of how he performed as a pass rusher, where he wins, where he needs work, and how he might fit into Spags’ system. Let’s talk some film on a guy who, similar to Jawaan Taylor, probably has yet to reach his ceiling and looks built to play in Kansas City’s system.