Chiefs’ first-round pick off to slow start at camp: ‘He’s playing catch-up right now’
Ten days ago — at the start of training camp with rookies and quarterbacks in attendance — Chiefs first-round draft pick Felix Anudike-Uzomah made sure everyone knew he was around.
He smiled wide when teammate Wanya Morris was asked about him during an interview in the media tent. Anudike-Uzomah — seated in the back row next to reporters himself — even took part in some good-natured ribbing with Morris, laughing while saying he got the best of him in their college matchups.
Fast forward a week and a half, and Anudike-Uzomah’s demeanor had shifted when standing in front of reporters after Monday’s practice.
The typically good-natured Kansas State product was stoic at the microphone. This time, he spoke more about what wasn’t happening at training camp than what was.
“At the end of the day, I’m still learning,” Anudike-Uzomah said Monday. “For me, I’m still not there yet. And I’ve got some learning to do.”
It was evident: This start to camp has been frustrating.
Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo often shuffles his first-string reps among players to see how they fare. That hasn’t been the case for Anudike-Uzomah, though, who has only played with the 2s and 3s thus far.
Spagnuolo admitted Monday that Anudike-Uzomah originally “got behind” because of his circumstances. After Anudike-Uzomah broke his thumb late last season while playing for K-State, he was limited during the Chiefs’ summer practices while mostly standing to the side.
“One thing about (the) offseason as defensive coaches, we complain you can’t do real football. But the one thing about the offseason is you can get a lot of the mental part — get a base — and he didn’t have that initially,” Spagnuolo said. “He’s playing catch-up right now.”
Anudike-Uzomah spoke honestly Monday about the significance of missing those summer on-field reps, calling it a “step back.”
“It affected me quite a bit, like a lot, because a lot of the rookies obviously had to learn technique-wise on the field, full speed,” Anudike-Uzomah said. “And I had to like jump back because of my injury. But now I’m here, now I’m in training camp. So training camp’s a great time to get your footwork down and get everything down, so to be ready for the preseason.”
Anudike-Uzomah described what he’s going through as a “day-to-day process.” His goal is to learn the playbook and his technique a little better each day, saying he’s slowly getting the hang of both.
The good news? Spagnuolo said Anudike-Uzomah has shown some promising signs in recent days.
“I think Felix is climbing. I really do,” Spagnuolo said. “I mean, lookit, we all know he didn’t do anything in the offseason here, and that set him back. I thought he was a little rusty and struggled early. But Joe (Cullen, defensive line coach) and I both, as you watch 1-on-1s and you watch the team periods, he’s flashing now, which is a good thing.”
The Chiefs are likely to need some production from Anudike-Uzomah this season given their losses on the edge. Frank Clark signed with the Broncos in June, and Carlos Dunlap remains a free agent after playing in all 17 games a season ago.
KC’s projected starters at the position are free-agent signing Charles Omenihu and second-year player George Karlaftis.
Anudike-Uzomah says his current situation has shifted his outlook. He’s redirected his focus to incremental progress — while not worrying about expectations he should have for himself as a first-round draft pick.
“I’m just blocking that out,” Anudike-Uzomah said. “At the end of the day, I’m just drafted here to play. I’m drafted here to learn, play and learn a defense.”
This story was originally published July 31, 2023 at 1:34 PM.
