Why Chiefs rookie — with no playoff snaps — could play big role in Super Bowl LVIII
Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo says it won’t be easy to replace defensive end Charles Omenihu, who suffered a torn ACL in the team’s previous game against the Ravens.
Others will have to step up. And that could include first-round pick Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Spagnuolo said Friday.
“We feel real confident,” Spagnuolo said, “with where Felix is.”
Anudike-Uzomah contributing in Super Bowl LVIII — the Chiefs play the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas on Feb. 11 — certainly would be an intriguing storyline.
KC selected Anudike-Uzomah with the 31st pick in April’s NFL Draft. The Kansas State product received sporadic playing time throughout the early season before Omenihu settled into a more prominent role after he returned from a six-game suspension to start the year.
Which leads us to now. Anudike-Uzomah was a healthy inactive for each of the Chiefs’ three playoff games, meaning he has yet to play a snap this postseason.
Spagnuolo said Friday he often rotates defensive players early in the year for situations like this. His hope is that Anudike-Uzomah will benefit from having at least five snaps in each of the Chiefs’ first 10 games.
“He would get some plays here and there,” Spagnuolo said. “Again, I’ve said this before, it (lack of playing time) wasn’t a reflection on what Felix was doing or not doing, but the other guys are playing pretty good.”
Anudike-Uzomah went to Lee’s Summit High School before college at K-State, where he tied for sixth in team history with 20.5 sacks.
Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said immediately after the NFL draft that the team decided to “not get cute” when selecting Anudike-Uzomah, who was one of the youngest players in the draft; the edge rusher just turned 22 last week.
“There’s a guy that we like at a position that we need,” Veach said after the draft’s first round in April. “And we’ll just go ahead and make the pick, and I’m certainly glad we did.”
Anudike-Uzomah received extensive action in the Chiefs’ Week 18 game at the Los Angeles Chargers when the team rested its starters for the playoffs. He played 61 snaps in KC’s 13-12 win, contributing three tackles and two QB hurries.
After Omenihu went down against the Ravens last week, Chiefs defensive ends George Karlaftis (81% of snaps), Mike Danna (76%) and Malik Herring (24%) saw high usage compared to typical roles. Spagnuolo said it also aided his defense that the Ravens didn’t run many offensive snaps in the first half.
“If the play count gets up, that’s where it gets tough for George being out there a lot and Mike,” Spanuolo said. “And that’s when we’ve got to have guys to step in there.”
On Super Bowl Sunday, that could include Anudike-Uzomah, who should have a chance to help the Chiefs’ defense after sitting out three consecutive weeks.
“Hopefully the fact that Felix has played some in games,” Spagnuolo said, “he’ll be able to step in there and perform pretty well for us.”
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This story was originally published February 3, 2024 at 6:30 AM.
