Why the Kansas City Chiefs chose Kansas State football defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah
As Felix Anudike-Uzomah settled in to watch the first round of the NFL Draft unfold on television at his Kansas City home Thursday night, just minutes away from the live action at Union Station, little did he know how the evening would end.
Would he become the first Kansas State player selected in the first round since quarterback and fellow Kansas City, Missouri, native Josh Freeman in 2009? Or would he fall to the second round, where many draft analysts had him pegged? And if indeed he was chosen on opening night, where would he end up?
As it turned out, he couldn't have hoped for a better outcome. Not only was Anudike-Uzomah, a 6-foot-3, 255-pound defensive end and the 2022 Big 12 defensive player of the year, the 31st and final pick of the first round, but he was picked by the hometown Kansas City Chiefs. That's the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs.
"He was super excited," Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said of Anudike-Uzomah's reaction when they spoke. "And it's one thing obviously just to get drafted in the NFL, but then to have a local kid get that call on draft night while the draft was being held in Kansas City, needless to say he was he was really excited, and obviously the conversation went really well."
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Anudike-Uzomah was understandably thrilled. The Chiefs also were pleased to land not only the top available player on their draft board, but also at a position of need. Earlier this spring, they released end Frank Clark, a part of both recent Super Bowl wins.
This was no publicity stunt for the benefit of the hometown fans.
"We felt comfortable enough in the first round to take him and not trade ourselves out of the first round, which we had opportunities to do," Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said during a news conference at the team's Arrowhead Stadium draft headquarters. "But we felt we wanted to stay right [where we were] and take him."
With Clark gone, it opens the door for Anudike-Uzomah to step in opposite end George Karlaftis, last year's first-round pick out of Purdue.
"We got a chance to see him obviously for playing right down the road there in Manhattan," Veach said. "He's one of the younger guys in the draft, too. I think he just turned 21, and he's done nothing but grow and develop throughout the last couple years.
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"And we're excited for Steve (Spagnuolo, defensive coordinator) and Joe Cullen (defensive line coach) to get their hands on him now and continue that growth and trajectory uphill. But any time you can add a premium position and one of the youngest players in the draft and have that to work with for a long time is something we're excited about."
Anudike-Uzomah, who played at Lee's Summit High School before joining K-State in 2020, had a breakout all-conference season as a sophomore the following year with 51 tackles, 14.5 for loss, and 11 sacks. Last year, despite receiving extra attention from opposing offenses, he still had 46 stops, 11 for losses, with 8.5 sacks.
With his selection at No. 31, Anudike-Uzomah became the highest K-State draft choice since Freeman went at No. 17 overall to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2009. And he is the top Wildcat defensive end ever selected, beating out Darren Howard (second round, No. 33 overall) in 2000 and Jordan Willis (third round, No. 73) in 2017.
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There was plenty for the Chiefs to like about Anudike-Uzomah, who, because of his relative lack of experience, has a significant upside.
"Just the motor and the relentless effort," Veach said. "A guy that had a ton of production at Kansas State and just turned 21, so a majority of this production was coming in a big-time conference at 19 to 20 years old.
"So I think every year he's been there you can see the growth and development and being so young, I still think there's a huge window for him to continue to grow and develop. We're excited that we get him at this stage of his career and being so young, got a lot of years to work with him and continue to grow and develop him."
Then of course there is the feel-good aspect of a Kansas City native getting to stay at home and play for the Chiefs.
"I think it's neat, and then the draft is right here in Kansas City," Reid said. "I know that people down at the draft were excited. We had that on the TV, and they were fired up about it.
"So Kansas State, Kansas City and then the draft, I think that's a real positive. I was proud of our fans. They showed it like crazy today down there. It was a neat deal."
More Wildcats still on the board
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While Anudike-Uzomah got squeezed into the first round, at least two more Wildcats are expected to get the call on the second and third day of the draft.
First in line when the draft resumes at 6 p.m. Friday with the second and third rounds should be Big 12 all-conference cornerback Julius Brents, who was considered a first-round longshot, but was a more likely pick for the second day. And then there is All-America running back Deuce Vaughn, who could go anywhere from the fourth through the seventh and final rounds.
Other hopefuls include wide receiver Malik Knowles, cornerback Ekow Boye-Doe and kicker/punter Ty Zentner.
Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Why the Kansas City Chiefs picked Kansas State's Felix Anudike-Uzomah
