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By Rowan Fisher-Shotton
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Patrick Mahomes is healthy. Travis Kelce is still one of the best tight ends in football. And Rashee Rice is ramping up his practices after offseason knee surgery. With an improved offensive line, the Kansas City Chiefs should again have one of the most dynamic offenses in the NFL.
Defensively, there's been a lot of change. All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie is out, along with defensive backfield teammates cornerback Jaylen Watson and safety Bryan Cook. Up front, linebacker Leo Chenal and defensive end Charles Omenihu both signed with the Commanders in March, while Mike Danna left for Buffalo.
All of that has left the door open for somebody new to step up, and so far through camp, it's been 2023 first-round pick Felix Anudike-Uzomah. He's been working with the first-team defense for most of the week, stepping in for the injured Ashton Gillotte, and has had several strong performances in practice.
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On Friday, head coach Andy Reid praised the young defensive end, who missed all of last season due to a brutal hamstring injury. "His get-off is what jumps out to me," Reid said. "He's bringing power with it. It's one thing to run around people, but there's a point, as a defensive end, you've got to physically blow things up a little bit. He's worked hard at that."
Anudike-Uzomah addressed the injury after practice as well, saying this is the healthiest he's been. "I feel good, so I'm rolling," he said. "I'm happy to work. Adversity happens with everybody. It's just how you respond."
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The Chiefs selected Anudike-Uzomah 31st overall after a standout three-year college career at Kansas State, where he was a two-time Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year and two-time first-team All-Big 12 honoree. In his final 2022 season, he earned Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and first-team All-American honors.
An athletic 6-foot-4, 255-pound edge rusher, expectations were high for Anudike-Uzomah coming in, but his first two years in the NFL were disappointing. He recorded just 41 combined tackles, eight tackles for loss, three sacks, and two forced fumbles across 34 games over his first two seasons with the Chiefs. Last season was supposed to be his breakout — instead, he landed on season-ending injured reserve during the preseason with a hamstring injury and missed the entire 2025 campaign.
Now entering a pivotal contract year, with several key departures on defense, the pressure is on Anudike-Uzomah to live up to the first-round billing from three years ago.
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