Trading Former 1st-Rounder Could Help Chiefs, and It’s Not McDuffie

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Nine years ago, Brett Veach championed Patrick Mahomes before the Chiefs became three-time Super Bowl champions.

But since Veach replaced John Dorsey as the Chiefs’ full-time general manager in 2018, while they’ve won games, they haven’t won many drafts. Their 2023 draft took another hit this week with Rashee Rice’s legal trouble.

Kansas City could make a play, however, to regain some of its 2023 first-round investment in Felix Anudike-Uzomah.

“Anudike-Uzomah has not come close to living up to his potential as a first-round pick for the Chiefs,” respected observer Aaron Schatz wrote Wednesday. “He barely played in his rookie year in 2023 and had just 2.5 sacks with three starts in his sophomore campaign.”

Costly preseason injury at Seattle

His junior campaign was even worse after an Aug. 15 hamstring injury ended his 2025 season. Schatz said he’s a prime candidate for a change of scenery – and the Chiefs could get some form of draft compensation.

“At best, he is fourth on the Chiefs' depth chart, behind George Karlaftis, Mike Danna and Ashton Gillotte,” Schatz said. “With one year remaining on his rookie deal, perhaps a trade would allow Anudike-Uzomah to finally find the potential that teams saw when he came out of Kansas State.”

Five first-round picks

Veach’s five first-round picks since the team traded up to take Mahomes have yielded only two marquee players so far: Cornerback Trent McDuffie and defensive end George Karlaftis (both selected in 2022).

His others were Clyde Edwards-Helaire (2020), Xavier Worthy (2024) and Josh Simmons (2025). Worthy and Simmons, obviously, have plenty of remaining upside with a small sample size.

But Anudike-Uzomah, a 6-4, 255-pound defensive end from nearby Lee’s Summit, Mo., has struggled to make an impact. The 2022 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year in his final season at Kansas State, Anudike-Uzomah entered the NFL as the Chiefs’ first-round choice in 2023 (31st overall).

What the Chiefs could acquire for the 24-year-old pass-rusher is an interesting question. Kansas City has just six selections in April’s draft, before an expected compensatory choice for losing Justin Reid. Veach could certainly use an additional Day 3 selection, who’s expected to return at full health when the offseason program begins in April.

Of course, the Chiefs could keep him on the roster and give him one final opportunity, although their best window to get trade compensation is these next eight weeks before the draft. Entering the final year of his rookie contract, Anduike-Uzomah is actually eligible for a contract extension as well as a fifth-year option.

But the Chiefs aren’t likely to take either of those avenues with their 2023 first-round choice. NFL teams have until May 1 to exercise fifth-year options on players they selected in that ’23 first round.

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