The defending AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs have hosted and won five of the past six Conference Championship Games. They have three Super Bowl victories to show for it, but fell well short in their latest appearance against the Philadelphia Eagles last season.
Chief among Kansas City's problems in the 40-22 Super Bowl LIX blowout was a lack of a consistent pass rush. More specifically, they couldn't get to Philadelphia signal-caller Jalen Hurts from the perimeter, and he made them pay despite being used sparingly as a thrower.
It's back to the drawing board for the Chiefs after seeing Hurts and the Eagles expose a glaring weakness on the NFL's biggest stage. While Kansas City didn't address the issue directly this offseason, they spent the No. 31 overall pick on defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah in the 2023 draft. He's failed to make an impact in the pros thus far, and that must change if they want to reach their fourth straight Super Bowl.
The Chiefs need former first-round pick Felix Anudike-Uzomah to live up to his lofty draft billing
Anudike-Uzomah has appeared in all of Kansas City's 34 regular-season contests, though he's been deployed as nothing more than a situational pass rusher. The 23-year-old logged a 20 percent defensive snap share rate as a rookie in 2023. That number increased to 31 percent during his sophomore campaign, but the Chiefs need more from him.
Frankly, with only three sacks to his name across two years, the Chiefs haven't gotten what they paid for with Anudike-Uzomah. They've managed without him. Yet, imagine what Kansas City can accomplish if the former Kansas State star takes a meaningful step forward.
Kansas City generated pressure at a high clip last season — the fifth-highest in football, to be exact. However, much of that came from the trenches, in the form of perennial All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones.
The Chiefs could benefit tremendously from getting Jones some help along the edges of the front line. Not long ago, they were on the wrong side of what can happen when you pair a game-wrecking interior defender with a formidable outside presence. The Eagles had Kansas City superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes under constant duress to the tune of six sacks in the Big Game.
George Karlaftis III is fantastic and has emerged as a reliable runningmate beside Jones. But there's more meat on the bone, and unlocking Anudike-Uzomah opposite him to sandwich the latter would give Kansas City a three-headed sack machine.
As the Chiefs know, the AFC is brimming with incredible talent under center. They must find ways to slow down the likes of reigning MVP Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert, among others. Anudike-Uzomah can help — if he can reach the potential Kansas City saw in him when they chose him in the first round.