Tag: Felix Anudike-Uzomah

WATCH: Chiefs rookies in action during Day 1 of minicamp

Check out some video clips from the first day of #Chiefs rookie minicamp:

Kansas City Chiefs rookies hit the field for the first time on Saturday, kicking off the first day of their three-day rookie minicamp.

Local media members were allowed to grab a look at players in action during the earliest portion of practice during warm-ups and individual drills. FOX 4 Kansas City reporters Harold R. Kuntz and P.J. Green captured some shots of the rookies in action, as did KSHB-TV’s Aaron Ladd.

Below you’ll find some of the first clips of the Chiefs’ rookie class in action with their new team:

WATCH: New Chiefs DE Felix Anudike-Uzomah gets the call

Kansas State DE Felix Anudike-Uzomah was fighting back tears when he got the call that he was the newest member of the #Chiefs:

The Kansas City Chiefs have released a behind-the-scenes video of Kansas State DE Felix Anudike-Uzomah receiving the call that he’d been selected by his hometown team.

Clark Hunt got on the phone with him to let him know that he’d be the newest member of the Chiefs and the waterworks began to flow.

“Bruh, you don’t understand,” Anudike-Uzomah said, fighting back tears. “I’ve dreamed of this my whole life.”

He’d later speak with Brett Veach, Andy Reid and Steve Spagnuolo. As he spoke with Coach Reid, the pick was announced and you could hear his family and friends go wild.

“It was amazing,” Anudike-Uzomah told reporters on Thursday. “It was just a lot of people, a lot of emotions. (My friends and family) were more excited than me, for sure. It was just – first of all, I wanted a small (amount of) people because I’m a type of person that (doesn’t) like all the attention on me, so I just need my family. But it worked out good. I got drafted by literally my favorite team growing up, so it’s just definitely a dream come true.”

A Kansas City native, who played high school football in Lee’s Summit, Anudike-Uzomah grew up a Chiefs fan during the Matt Cassel era. He detailed his fandom of the team to reporters later that night.

“It’s (my) number one love,” Anudike-Uzomah explained. “I remember going to my first Chiefs game back when I was seven years old, from there I just fell in love with this. Back in the (former QB) Matt Cassel days – it’s funny – back in the Matt Cassel days, back whenever we were like 1‐12 and we beat the Green Bay Packers and we were all excited because we just beat, like, the Packers at the time – it’s a dream come true. Also, I just remember me and my friends just went up to training camp just to watch (Travis) Kelce and the Chiefs literally just play. It’s coming full circle which is crazy and it’s unbelievable that I’m even in this position now. I’m a Kansas City Chief. So, I’m definitely going to celebrate with my family and (everyone) else. I’m thankful for the Kansas City Chiefs fans because I was one of the Kansas City Chiefs fans, so I know how die-hard we are for the Chiefs.”

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Lee’s Summit coach shares story about new Chiefs DE Felix Anudike-Uzomah

New #Chiefs DE Felix Anudike-Uzomah’s high school coach took to Twitter to praise his perseverance and drive. | from @EdEastonJr

The Kansas City Chiefs first-round selection of Kansas State’s Felix Anudike-Uzomah helped fill a hole on the defensive line. The pick also was close to home in every sense aside from the proximity of his college career.

Anudike-Uzomah starred at Lee’s Summit High School, earning all-district honors his final three seasons from the MFCA. He totaled 184 tackles, 55 for loss, and 13 sacks over his three-year career. His head coach, Eric Thomas, took to Twitter following Anudike-Uzomah’s selection to praise his former player for his perseverance and continued success.

Thomas tweeted “My Heart is Full Today” before posting a passionate screenshot note of appreciation for Anudike-Uzomah. He expressed that the Chiefs’ new EDGE rusher was a three-sport athlete and a core pillar of the football program. He praised his commitment to getting better as a player and not giving up, and showing tremendous trust and courage in the process throughout his football playing career.

The Chiefs’ defense is getting a fighter who won’t quit when things get tough. They are also now faced with the prospect of having a defensive line comprised of first-round talent in Anudike-Uzomah and George Karlaftis.

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New Chiefs DE Felix Anudike-Uzomah’s jersey number revealed

#Chiefs DE Felix Anudike-Uzomah has been assigned a jersey number with his new team.

The latest member of the Kansas City Chiefs has been assigned a new jersey number.

Felix Anudike-Uzomah wore jersey number 91 with the Kansas State Wildcats and jersey number 45 with the Lee’s Summit Tigers. He’ll soon wear No. 97 in the NFL with the Chiefs.

The team shared a photo of Anudike-Uzomah at the team facility with his new jersey on Friday just ahead of Round 2 of the 2023 NFL draft. Check it out:

Malik Herring was the most recent player to wear No. 97 in Kansas City. Two of the more notable defensive linemen to wear the jersey number in franchise history are Allen Bailey and Dan Saleaumua. As far as the edge rusher spot is concerned, Alex Okafor is the last notable player to wear those threads for Kansas City.

I’m happy to report that he’s the only player in franchise history with a hyphenated name to wear this jersey number. Ultimately, it’s not a bad choice for the rookie pass rusher. Anything 90 and above is a good number for a player whose job is to get after the quarterback.

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4 things to know about new Chiefs DE Felix Anudike-Uzomah

Here are four things to know about new #Chiefs DE Felix Anudike-Uzomah.

The Kansas City Chiefs have a new edge rusher after Round 1 of the 2023 NFL draft, adding Kansas State’s Felix Anudike-Uzomah at pick No. 31. He was a very explosive and exciting player at the college level and he’ll look to carry that over into his NFL career.

Here’s a quick look at four things the Chiefs Kingdom should know about their newest player:

WATCH: Highlights of new Chiefs DE Felix Anudike-Uzomah

Check out some highlights of new #Chiefs DE Felix Anudike-Uzomah from his career at Kansas State.

The Kansas City Chiefs added Kansas State edge rusher Felix Anudike-Uzomah in Round 1 of the 2023 NFL draft.

A relentless force off the edge in the Big 12 conference, Anudike-Uzomah made an outsized impact in his three seasons in Manhattan, Kansas. He exits college with 27 games started, 97 total tackles, 26.5 tackles for loss, 20.5 sacks, eight forced fumbles and pass batted. He twice earned First-Team All-Conference honors, he was once named First-Team All-American, twice named the Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year and once named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year.

Below you’ll find highlights from his tenure with the K-State Wildcats, including his dominant performance against TCU in 2021.

Andy Reid, Brett Veach reveal Chiefs had offers to trade back from No. 31

The #Chiefs’ brass revealed they fielded trade offers for pick No. 31, but they wanted to avoid getting “too cute” with a trade back into Day 2.

The Kansas City Chiefs made the defensive line their immediate focus with their first-round pick of the 2023 NFL draft. Felix Anudike-Uzomah is the newest member of the roster without having to travel far after a successful college career at nearby Kansas State.

The temptation to move up was a rumor circulating the Chiefs for weeks leading up to Thursday’s opening round. Teams possibly trading back for more assets or trying to get an extra pick in the first round were scenarios general manager Brett Veach expected. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid was in the team’s war room throughout the process, telling reporters there were calls made to them regarding Pick No. 31.

“Yeah, well I don’t think he would have risked that if we felt like we wanted to trade out, but you get to that point and if you’re that pick, you’re going to have opportunities to trade out and so people were calling us,” said Reid. “But again, we felt very comfortable taking him.”

Several first-round deals occurred for a few teams jockeying for positions to take a coveted prospect. Thousands of Chiefs fans at the draft site remained vocal, patiently waiting for Kansas City to select last for the night or for any surprise moves.

Reid didn’t reveal the Chiefs’ offers from specific teams as he wrapped up his first-round press conference, but one can assume that teams exploring a trade were targeting the best-remaining quarterback, Kentucky’s Will Levis.

Brett Veach later elaborated, explaining that Felix Anudike-Uzomah was atop the team’s draft board and they didn’t want to get “too cute” by trading out.

“We did have some calls, I think (Head) Coach (Andy Reid) maybe mentioned that,” Veach explained. “It’s a situation though when you have a guy that is clearly the top guy left and then you know the calls that we had were – you’re talking mid‐40’s. It’s a long way away and then you’re going to end up just trading those picks to try to get back up and get a guy like Felix, so we thought let’s not get cute here. There’s a guy we like (at a) position that we need, and we’ll just go ahead and make the pick and certainly glad we did.”

The goal was to reinforce the defensive line following the departure of Frank Clark, and the addition of Anudike-Uzomah may have fulfilled the role of a long-term starter opposite George Karlaftis.

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Kansas City Chiefs select Felix Anudike-Uzomah with the 31st pick. Grade: B

The Chiefs’ selection of Felix Anudike-Uzomah gives Steve Spagnuolo a fascinating prospect who should be unleashed in NFL fronts.

(AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)

The Chiefs added some serious talent to their defensive line with Kansas State’s Felix Anudike-Uzomah, who totaled eight sacks and 46 total pressures last season. At 6-foot-4 and 255 pounds, Anudike-Uzomah projects well as an outside rusher who can also kick inside, and that makes him an intriguing addition to Steve Spagnuolo’s complex, blitz-friendly schemes.

Anudike-Uzomah brings impressive bend and lean around the edge…

…and he has the potential to be even more productive in the NFL, as he’ll be in fewer three-man fronts in the NFL than he was in college.

2023 NFL draft: How to watch, listen and stream

Here’s how you can watch, listen and stream Round 1 of the 2023 NFL Draft

The countdown to the 2023 NFL Draft is officially over as the red-carpet events and pre-show festivities are in full effect in Kansas City for the first time.

Philadelphia has two first-round picks tonight, and Howie Roseman’s player of choice could be narrowed down to Jalen Carter, Paris Johnson, and Bijan Robinson.

With round one just hours away, here’s how you can watch, listen and stream all seven rounds.

Bucs full seven-round 2023 mock draft

Draft day is here, and the talk is over. Well, almost — Bucs Wire has one last mock draft for you:

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ first draft after the end of the Tom Brady era will set the tone for the franchise in 2023. After making enough moves in free agency with limited cap space to stay afloat this season, the Bucs’ 2023 draft class will be a mission statement for how general manager Jason Licht and head coach Todd Bowles want to remake the roster.

The Bucs have few immediate needs outside of offensive tackle. Even there, the positional flexibility that All-Pro Tristan Wirfs can provide by playing either left or right tackle keeps Tampa’s options open.

With most of Tampa’s starting jobs filled, this draft will be about building depth, particularly on the defensive line and secondary, and developmental projects for the roster two to three years from now at the offensive skill positions.