Charles Omenihu's impact is being felt on 3rd down

The Chiefs' pass rusher is once again helping inject life into the pass rush on obvious passing downs.

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It’s time we talk about Charles Omenihu and the Chiefs’ pass rush. But first, we need to talk about our old friend complementary pass rush.

If I had a nickel for every time I said that phrase (complementary pass rush), I’d have like 500 nickels. Which isn’t a ton of money, but it’s a lot of times to say those particular words in that order.

I can’t help but say that phrase on repeat because fewer concepts are more frequently misunderstood by many football fans (at least people I interact with). Quite often I see people call out an individual pass rusher (for Chiefs fans, usually Chris Jones) for not getting a pressure/hit/sack on every drive (or even every down) and not take into account the way the entire picture fits together.

(For those have that heard me wax eloquent about this concept before, feel free to skip the next few paragraphs and skip right to the Omenihu stuff)

Here’s how complementary pass rush works… It’s about the FREQUENCY of pressure and the INTENSITY of pressure as a whole, throughout the game.

First, frequency of pressure. On every dropback, four guys (usually) are getting after the quarterback. The very best pass rushers in the game “win” their rep (as in beat their blocker) approximately 20-30% of the time. That number may seem low, but it’s absolutely true. It’s hard to collect wins against NFL offensive linemen. So what that means, then, is that even if you have an elite pass rusher (such as Jones) and he’s winning at a high rate for an elite pass rusher (let’s say 30% of the time), that still leaves 70% of the snaps where he’s not winning. And if no one else is winning on those snaps, then you have a situation where a QB can sit/survey and pick the secondary apart.

Next, intensity of pressure. This one becomes a bit more difficult to describe, but we’ll give it a go. Picture a standard NFL dropback with four guys rushing. Now let’s say a defensive tackle wins inside and gets pressure on the QB… but everyone else is stonewalled. What happens? Well, in many cases, the QB has multiple places to go to evade pressure, whether it’s sliding around the pocket or bailing out to one side of the line or another (or through a gap in the line created by OL blocks winning). Maybe he scrambles for a gain. Maybe with the extra time he was able to buy he finds an open receiver. Either way, despite that defensive tackle winning, the play isn’t ruined.

Now imagine that same play (defensive tackle wins his rep), but this time one of the edge rushers ALSO wins his rep and a third rusher crushes the pocket a bit. Now you’ve gone from light pressure (coming from one spot) to heavy pressure (coming from multiple angles). Additionally, escape avenues are cut off, and the QB has nowhere realistic to slide. The intensity of pressure can, in many cases, dictate the difference between a pressure, hit, or sack of the QB (with obviously each outcome increasingly more likely to ruin a play).

The short story is that you need more than one guy to get it done consistently and well as a pass rush, even if you have a superstar. And you ideally have DUDES who can win 1x1 with some consistency (and more frequently/intensely) as well as “guys” who are helpful contributors and/or cleanup rushers (though not as consistent as the DUDES).

That’s great, but what about Charles Omenihu?

With that as the framework, let’s talk about Omenihu, who is (for the second year in a row) helping Kansas City’s complementary pass rush get better at the best possible time and in the most important scenario; 3rd down. I’ve written several times this year that the Chiefs’ pass rush when rushing four has not been good enough (outside of Jones), and as a result Steve Spagnuolo has been forced to send extra guys on 3rd down more often than is ideal (as it creates predictability in coverage when the opponent knows you HAVE to blitz to get pressure). Their lack of another DUDE in the pass rush has made the “guys” look worse (as they’re not getting their usual effort/cleanup pressures) and has contributed to the defense looking more vulnerable.

Against the Browns on Sunday, Omenihu’s presence was felt on multiple 3rd down plays, and his ability to win 1x1 as well as provide complementary pass rush in a variety of places was crucial for the defense. Let’s start with the most obvious one, a strip sack from the RDE spot.

This is a fast, dominant win against the LT (who, as Mitch Schwartz noted, really had a rough rep here) that takes advantage of Omenihu’s combination of length, power, and ability to explode around the corner. Omenihu isn’t particularly bendy, but he’s got JUST enough to corner around the edge if he can free his hands. This is one of his favorite moves when rushing from the DE spot, where he utilizes a bit of a stutter step to go outside/inside/outside while closing towards the tackle and, when the punch comes, use a double-handed swipe to get loose.

The move clears his hands so effectively (and the tackle really does a poor job keeping his feet moving) that he’s got room to explode right at the QB, only needing to corner a bit. Again, his slight bend sets him apart from a lot of guys built the way he is… and he’s a BIG fella, listed at 6’5” and 280 pounds. But he can corner just enough to get by, and gets to the QB fast.

Here’s where Omenihu is as the QB hits the back of his drop and sets.

He’s already completely clear of his blocker with a straight shot at the QB, and he’s done it under control and able to close fast. Winston hitches up into the pocket (he doesn’t seem to see Omenihu but it’s smart movement given the space he has) and changes the angle, but because Omenihu can bend a bit he’s able to keep pursuing and lays out, perfectly going after the arm first in order to knock it away before the QB realizes the danger.

Those sort of dominant, fast 1x1 wins have been nearly nonexistent for Kansas City outside of Jones this season. Note that Jones doesn’t come into the frame until the end of the play. Also, note that Spags tried out a simulated pressure here, dropping a couple of defensive linemen and sending a pair of safeties (remember, both sim pressures and zone blitzes involve dropping defensive linemen, but with sim pressures you’re not sending extra guys)… and it doesn’t work, with the Browns having bodies in the right spots to block it.

In other words, if it weren’t for Omenihu winning 1x1 on this 3rd and 5, Winston would’ve had all day to stand back in the pocket. Instead, he’s sacked. FREQUENCY of pressure with complementary pass rush!

Now, let’s talk about stuff that you might not have noticed because it doesn’t (deep breath) show up in the box score. We’ll start with intensity of pressure. Part of being a complementary pass rush is having someone win in a way that spooks the QB off his spot… and someone who is able to clean up. And that’s exactly what happened on one of George Karlaftis’s sacks on 3rd down.

Watch Omenihu rush from right across the right tackle, taking on the right guard. Most importantly, watch how he’s able to get free and “flash” inside in a way that threatens Winston while Jones starts to collapse the pocket from the other side. And consider how it all works together to get Winston to bail out (along with some nice coverage on the first read).

Winston sees that Jones is crashing his way forward into the pocket. That makes him nervous, but he looks like he might stay put… until he keeps moving his eyes and sees Omenihu win across the face of the RG and appear to be about to squeeze through a gap. That sends Winston scrambling right. Karlaftis recognizes this, disengages, and runs Winston down for a sack.

Yes, Karlaftis gets the stat here. But it’s Jones and Omenihu that are the primary drivers, and you can see how if either of them hadn’t gotten a win on the snap (and they’re both more low-level wins), the pressure might not have mattered. Winston would have had space to slide or perhaps been able to stay calm if only one guy was winning, moving away from where they were coming from. But seeing pressure come from both directions spooked him, and he ran straight around the right edge, where Karlaftis had stayed disciplined enough to pursue. Intensity of pressure matters!

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In that same vein, Omenihu’s ability to win with power helps with overall intensity of the pass rush in crushing the pocket, which is Spags’ preferred way for DEs to win (probably why Joshua Uche is not playing at all, which drives me crazy but I digress).

By crushing the pocket, you can get QBs to panic, especially if it’s coming from more than one place. A great example of this came on one of my favorite “complementary pass rush” snaps on 3rd down Sunday, where Jones and Omenihu and Karlaftis all managed to create a bad pocket that ultimately led to a sack for Karlaftis (who I’ll talk about more in a minute, as his stats will likely benefit more than anyone else from Omenihu’s presence).

Watch the way the pocket collapses around Winston here, another 3rd down where the Chiefs forced a punt. None of the wins are dominant wins, but when they all come together…

This is a great example of how the entirety of a pass rush can be greater than the individual “wins,” and how even non-dominant wins, if multiple guys collect them, results in much more intense pressure at times than just one guy winning. Omenihu, Jones, and Karlaftis all manage to drive their defenders back and crush the pocket. Because of this, Winston feels the walls closing in and has to bail out right again. And once again, Karlaftis recognizes it and shows off his athleticism to close and finish the play.

The complementary pass rush as a whole was the reason this sack occurred, and Karlaftis’s motor and athleticism allowed him to finish. And that’s where player like Karlaftis can benefit the most from Omenihu’s return. I’ve often said that Karlaftis is more a high-level “guy” in a pass rush as opposed to a DUDE. What I mean by that is he’s strong, athletic, has an incredible motor, and executes the way Spags wants in a way that makes him a solid DE… but he’s not a 1x1 winner at a high enough level to warrant dude status. If he’s your second best pass rusher it’ll be hard to have a consistent pass rush.

However, if Karlaftis is your third best pass rusher? And if he’s got a pair of DUDES who win at a higher level than he does and force the QB to bail out of pockets and otherwise move around? Then his motor and athleticism become much more important and he’s able to collect a lot more cleanup sacks than other “guys” would get. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that after collecting 4 sacks in 11 games, Karlaftis has managed 3 sacks in just 3 games since Omenihu’s return. He’s a born effort/cleanup/scheme guy, with some power and athleticism mixed in, and when pressure is coming from elsewhere he shines in helping finish.

Another way a defensive lineman can help the complementary pass rush is being able to credibly occupy two blockers. And because of Omenihu’s ability to rush from the interior (he’s at his best from there), he can actually eat up blockers from there in a way that no one other than Jones can do for the Chiefs.

Watch below as Omenihu (as part of an overall rush design with a delayed blitz) is able to occupy a pair of blockers and keep them legitimately busy, which helps free up space for everyone else. This is on yet another 3rd down (the fourth 3rd down in which he had a significant impact).

Because Omenihu is a good interior rusher, his presence helps Spags move Jones outside more frequently to matchup hunt without such a drastic dropoff on the interior (Mike Danna and Wharton are decent “guys” rushing from the interior, but again, not DUDES). It’s also worth noting that here, yet again, because there’s pressure in multiple areas, Karlaftis is able to help clean up.

We’ll see how the Chiefs’ pass rush holds up down the stretch. But so far, with Omenihu back, there’s yet again been a noted uptick in the overall efficiency of the group. His ability to add in a few extra 1x1 wins, crush the pocket, and threaten from the interior has been noticeable in terms of making the whole complementary pass rush better. And not a moment too soon either, as the playoffs loom and the Chiefs are in a fight for the one seed with a hobbled Mahomes and a secondary that isn’t as dominant as last year’s was.

If 2023 told us anything, it’s that Omenihu will be one of the most important defenders on the team come playoff time. Even if it’s in ways that don’t show up in the box score. Because that, my friends, is what complementary pass rush is all about; Making the sum of the parts greater. And Omenihu was doing just that against the Browns.

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