Felix Anudike-Uzomah film review. What did the Chiefs edge do in his first live action?

Examining every snap of the rookie DE to see where he won, where he needs work, and what traits he showed in his first real(ish) NFL game.

The Chiefs have some questions along their defensive line.

The continued Chris Jones holdout aside (I’m not panicking until that second game is over… then I’ll start a little bit), there are some questions about the pass rush rotation. Kansas City lost Frank Clark and Carlos Dunlap, along with Khalen Saunders, during this offseason. That’s a total of 1,710 snaps that need to be replaced.

With the suspension of Charles Omenihu (who they clearly have a big role in mind for), the need for competent bodies along the line has only increased.

Enter Felix Anudike-Uzomah, the Chiefs’ first round pick in the 2023 draft, or “FAU” (as the perpetually lazy typers, such as myself, like to call him).

I wrote about FAU’s college film when the Chiefs drafted him, breaking down some of the ways he found success and trying to project how he would look as a pro. Here’s a bit of what I wrote summarizing what I saw on tape from him at K-State:

He’s a different style of player than the other defensive linemen I reviewed heading into the draft, more of a natural edge rusher than an inside/outside guy. He’s also a player who wins more through flexibility/agility and average power than the other way around (high level power and average flexibility/agility).

After watching him, I’m very comfortable with the Chiefs grabbing him at 31. Excited even, as that potential in terms of bending the corner is something that can be built around. When you combine that with decent hand strength and a tireless motor, there’s potential there for a pretty varied edge rusher who can hold up against the run.

Of course, what a player does in college isn’t necessarily an indicator of what he’ll do as a pro. And FAU has had a quiet training camp so far, without a lot being said one way or another. However, on Sunday against the Saints FAU saw pretty extensive action for a preseason game, logging over half the snaps.

And so, to learn more about FAU, I went back and re-watched every snap he took, charting wins/losses against the run and the pass, neutral plays, pressures/hits/sacks, run stuffs, and effective double teams. Let’s talk about those numbers (keeping in mind a very small sample size), and more importantly talk about what he showed on film in terms of traits, as there’s a chance the rookie could be asked to play a larger role than expected.