Chris Jones Bullish on Felix Anudike-Uzomah's Progress in Second Season with Chiefs

With Felix Anudike-Uzomah seeing the field more in year No. 2 with the Chiefs, Chris Jones thinks he's made the most of those reps.

Sep 29, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) is pressured by Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah (97) in the second half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Because of an influx of injuries at the defensive end position, the Kansas City Chiefs have been forced to rely on role players to see the field more often this season. As expected, 2023 first-round draft pick Felix Anudike-Uzomah is the primary player benefitting from increased reps.

With Charles Omenihu (ACL recovery) still on the physically unable to perform list and Mike Danna out of the lineup recently with a pectoral strain, Anudike-Uzomah's workload grew more and more significant. The Kansas State product has topped the 30-snap mark in three consecutive games since the bye week, good for right around 60% of those available.

Anudike-Uzomah's traditional box score numbers from those games: nine tackles (one for loss), two quarterback hits and half a sack. Is that the level of progress Kansas City envisioned? All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones weighed in on his teammate's growth and argues that it's positive.

"I think Felix is moving in the direction we want him to," Jones said. "We've got a lot of high hopes for Felix. We knew coming into training camp that his snap count was going to come up after last year, and I think he's been answering the call well, especially with us having some guys down because of injury."

The desired production or ceiling for Anudike-Uzomah can be tricky to pin down, but it does seem that he's making some level of progress in his sophomore campaign. His get-off at the line of scrimmage, while still needing some work, is improved over last year's. He's also flashed more impressive wins with roughly the same pressure rate (according to Pro Football Focus) and has even been used sparingly on the interior this year. He's logged at least one pressure in six straight games.

Anudike-Uzomah's run defense is also better than it was as a rookie. After posting a terrible 47.7 PFF grade there last season, he's up to a more respectable 61.9 in 2024. That may rank 10th among all Chiefs defenders with as many reps as him, yet his stop percentage (9.4) trails only Chamarri Conner and Nick Bolton. The flashes are there, as Zack Eisen of Kansas City Chiefs On SI recently pointed out last month.

"As a prospect, question marks surrounded Anudike-Uzomah's ability to defend the run," Eisen wrote. "This season, he's been solid as a run defender. His iffy play strength still shows up sometimes, but he's not getting pushed around like many were concerned about. He especially succeeds on the backside of runs. He can close the cutback lane and prevent the running back from finding a hole if the front is clogged. Another reason that his run defense has been a positive is his effort. There were never questions about it, but seeing him never give up on a play is excellent. There have been at least two plays this season where the action is behind Anudike-Uzomah, but he hustles to make the tackle."

Despite the circumstances being less than ideal – no team wants its snap-getters to be hurt – Anudike-Uzomah is making the most of his expanded role. That level of involvement soon won't be the case, especially considering Danna and Omenihu eventually getting back in the lineup and the team's recent trade for Joshua Uche (a superior pass rusher). Come playoff time, it's entirely possible that the former No. 31 overall pick is the fifth defensive end on the depth chart.

In the meantime, though, Jones and the rest of the Chiefs' defense seem happy for the second-year man.

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