Joshua Uche film review: The Chiefs got more juice in the pass rush
Joshua Uche film review: The Chiefs got more juice in the pass rush
Looking at every pass rush snap by the veteran edge rusher, and how he can help shore up one of the few weak spots of a great defense.
Brett Veach has been busy.
Just last week, the Chiefs’ GM brought DeAndre Hopkins to Kansas City in a move that has already paid dividends and looks promising for the offense moving forward. And yesterday, it was announced that Kansas City has now brought in help along the defensive line, trading for New England edge rusher Joshua Uche (pronounced "OO-shay") for a 2026 6th round pick (which they could recoup in part if he leaves in free agency following the season).
I confess I knew very little about Uche prior to the trade, other than he’s had a generally quiet career as a rotational pass rusher outside of 2022, when he recorded 11.5 sacks and another 14 QB hits. A few analysts I trust really like him, and Bill Belichick himself raved about the move (making the VERY cogent point that Uche hasn’t gotten to rush the passer nearly as much given how often NE is losing). A few analytics-style sites are very positive on him (PFF and ESPN’s Next Gen stats). All of these are good signs. I also saw that he’s been treated as a situational pass rush guy throughout most of his career. But other than that? Not much.
Is Uche another roster-churn move that might not see the field at all (such as Neil Farrell and Cameron Thomas)? Is this someone they’re hoping can take significant snaps? Do they think he can perhaps help increase their 3rd and long pressure rates without blitzing? What does this mean for the recovery timetable of Charles Omenihu and Mike Danna?
That last question I can’t know the answer to, but I can certainly learn what sort of player Uche has been this year by checking out his film.
And so to NFL Pro I went (it really is a marvelous tool that I’d recommend everyone check out) to see what we could find out about Uche. In particular, I’m curious what he brings to the table as a pass rusher. The Chiefs already have multiple DE’s who are capable against the run (including, as of late, Felix Anudike-Uzomah, who has shown up against the run in recent weeks after injuries forced him into action), and we’ll talk about that more later. So can Uche bring something that the current guys on the roster can’t?
Well… Actually, maybe. Watch him from the RDE spot here.
I don’t mind telling you, my rather skeptical mind went “whoa” at that rush… and a few more like it. And that surprised me given the lowball price.
NFL Pro showed 88 actual “pass rush” snaps for Uche so far this season (which makes sense as a rotational guy who comes in for obvious passing downs on a bad team through 7 games). Of those, 85 of them were (to me) legitimate pass rushes (3 were more screen situations and don’t really count). And so I charted all 85 of those pass rush snaps for wins, losses, and neutral plays along with pressures/hits/sacks. The goal, of course, is to get beyond the box score and see how Uche looked on a snap by snap basis getting after the passer. Through 7 games there were a wide variety of opponents, which was nice.
Let’s talk Uche’s film, shall we? Because I think the Chiefs may have something here.