NFL Draft Profile: Kansas City Chiefs Select Kansas State EDGE Felix Anudike-Uzomah
In this story:
#91
Pos: EDGE
Ht: 6031
Wt: 255
Hand: 0958
Arm: 3348
Wing: 8048
40: 4.85
DOB: 1/24/2002
Hometown: Kansas City, MO
High School: Lee's Summit
Eligibility: 2023
Felix Anudike-Uzomah
Kansas State Wildcats
One-Liner:
A productive and refined pass rusher, Felix Anudike-Uzomah can see the field early on passing downs thanks to his advanced hand usage, excellent understanding of leverage, and well-rounded athletic profile; that said, the Kansas State rusher has inconsistent power and will be a liability in run defense early.
Evaluation:
Though elite athletes often garner substantial attention in the draft process, technically-refined players, on average, may have a higher chance of succeeding in the league. Felix Anudike-Uzomah is certainly not a limited athlete. He is a fairly explosive mover with good speed and change of direction ability. He has the bend to corner and flatten to the passer. Likewise, he can work under a blocker’s reach. Anudike-Uzomah also boasts a strong upper body that enhances his hand moves and, at times, enables him to throw offensive linemen around. He has the lower body strength to work through full-man at times. That said, the Kansas State star primarily wins with his nuanced skillset and creative attack. He consistently leads with accurate hands into engagement. He strings moves together until one works and finishes with a clean rip. Moreover, Anudike-Uzomah seamlessly blends his hand usage with his movement skills. He displays an advanced feel for counters. Additionally, the Wildcats’ standout has an excellent understanding of leverage. This enhances his power and reduces blockable surface area. He can drive linemen if he plays at extension with leverage and burst into their frames. Further, he has a knack for identifying and attacking the blocker’s weaker shoulder. Anudike-Uzomah does an impressive job of forcing linemen into false steps by employing salesmanship before contact. Similarly, he frequently practices subtle directional changes to win once engaged. In run defense, the Missouri native can stack blocks after initiating contact with a low pad level. He constantly works to the ball carrier through engagement and sometimes disrupts the run by penetrating. His athletic profile offers solid potential in run defense. Still, Anudike-Uzomah is not quite ready to contribute at a high level in the league. Against the run, he can be displaced, driven, sealed, or washed even when he has leverage and plays with sound technique. He also sometimes gives himself up to full-man too willingly; from there, he can be slow to disengage. He does not tackle well through contact. His gap discipline is unreliable and he can lose track of the ball carrier. He fails to read the mesh point too often. In general, Anudike-Uzomah’s power is inconsistent, particularly when his pad level is too high. At times in his pass rush, the talented defender telegraphs his moves and can be limited by his good-not-great bend. Anudike-Uzomah lacks positional or scheme versatility.
Grade:
3rd Round
Background:
Felix Anudike-Uzomah, from Kansas City, Missouri, is an outstanding defensive player for Kansas State. In 2020 he saw some playing time, but his game really shined in 2022 where he was Third Team All American and First Team All Big 12. In high school, where he attended Lee’s Summit High School, totaled one hundred and eighty four tackles and fifty five tackles. Anudike-Uzomah is the son of Felix and Cynthia Uzomah and is currently majoring in Social Sciences.
Quotes:
"Felix, a couple things. One, he's as good a practice player as he is a game player in the fact of he goes and goes hard. He watched Wyatt Hubert do the same thing. So he learned from Wyatt, especially during that COVID year, of how to train and how to work your body and how to play so dang hard play after play. He's got a lot of confidence now and I'm excited because I think Felix had a breakout season last year. And I think if you could ask him, I think he can be better, and he thinks he can be better, as well, especially when you put the surrounding pieces around him because we have most of our defensive line back that it's hard to just double somebody. But Felix is so smart and understands the game. I give a lot of credit to Coach Wyatt and Coach Tui (Mike Tuiasosopo) for putting him in positions and then Felix in making sure that he's watching enough film and seeing tendencies. But I'm excited; Felix is a terrific football player and one of our better leaders, as well." -- Kansas State HC Chris Klieman on DE Felix Anudike-Uzomah
