Felix Anudike-Uzomah 2023 NFL Draft profile: Scout report for the Kansas State EDGE
Kansas State's Felix Anudike-Uzomah, who said that he only had like five sacks during his entire high school career, was a low-recruited three-star prospect in the 2020 class. He barely even saw the field as a true freshman before stepping into a prominent role in 2021, when he was a first-team All-Big 12 selection with 14.5 tackles for loss, 11 sacks and six forced fumbles.
His numbers dipped slightly as a junior (11, 8.5 and two), but he still had many great moments and was recognized as the Big 12’s Defensive Player of the Year, thanks in part due to his play in some of K-State's biggest games on the way to a conference championship,
Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Kansas State
6-foot-3, 255 pounds; Junior
Positives
+ When he plays half the man in the run game and just focuses on setting a physical edge, there’s not much ground he’ll surrender, if not actively takes it away
+ He has those strong triceps, which allow him to lock out and gain vision on the ballcarrier
+ You put him on the backside of run plays and guys try to hinge-block or just seal him on the backside, Felix will ride his blocker into the pile and negate any cutback lanes
+ Yet, he’s become better at recognizing when the play is designed to go away from him and there’s an opportunity to rip through their reach of tackles and go over the top of those blocks altogether
+ When caught on the wrong side of the blocks due to alignment, with somebody blocking down on him, he can at least ride that guy against his will regularly and force the ballcarrier to bubble wider around them
+ Happily wrong-shoulders pulling guards and creates traffic in the backfield when given a chance
+ You can reduce this guy inside and he played in some three-man lines, where his quick hands and explosive style can create issues in an aggressive, gap-slanting style
+ Had an absolute monster game against TCU in 2021, recording four sacks, including a strip near the goal line and midway through the fourth quarter, to seal the win ... Also stopped the scrambling QB on a couple of occasions
+ And generally, due to playing a bunch of five-technique, he saw true double-teams with regularity and especially later in games, when he made his presence felt offenses made it a priority to have four hands on him
+ Brings an explosive burst upfield and a relentless motor as a pass rusher, while trying to find a direct path towards the quarterback routinely
+ Got better at maximizing his power in 2022 ... Does well to stab at the chest of and lift up offensive linemen, routinely taking them off balance and dictating reps, where if the quarterback tries to step up, he’s often there to wrap up
+ Off the long arm, once he feels tackles leaning into him, he can follow through by bringing the opposite arm over the top and take the inside lane
+ However, he also displays some impressive flexibility and balance to dip around the corner and get his hips pointed at the quarterback, while tackles hook him and he can’t really keep his feet underneath himself
+ Pairs that up with a little jab inside at times, in order to create a softer corner for himself and packs a pretty sudden shoulder dip to go under the punch of tackles
+ If you show him the hands early, Felix will swipe them to the side and force guys to lean into him with their body, plus then he has the body control to circle around them
+ Has some reps where he has the outside edge on the tackle and as the back is trying to chip or help, he just runs through those guys in his path
+ Does not shy away from crashing into the shoulders of guards in order to set interior linemen on loops around him, and, of course, with his ability to curve his path, he can execute those stunts across multiple gaps himself
+ Already received a 89.9 pass-rush grade from PFF in 2021 before receiving more attention from offensive coordinators last season, yet still recorded 46 total pressures across 388 pass-rush snaps
Negatives
– Too often is a tad bit late off the ball and just launches himself into the guy across from him regardless of the play
– Has to do a better job of keeping the outside arm free and taking care of his contain responsibilities
– Can be caught off guard by some misdirection plays and overall his block recognition has room for improvement
– While the ability to bend is on display regularly, he doesn’t actually corner/flatten his rushes adequately yet with his cleats pushing off the ground, and he needs to learn to play under more control, not landing on the turf as regularly
– Going against NFL linemen, he’ll need to become more effective with setting up pass-rush moves and at least threatening to win cleanly with his hands, instead of always trying to start with power
Overview
Anudike-Uzomah has some of the most intriguing, but also sometimes frustrating, tape among any defensive player in this draft.
When he buries his hands inside the chest of blockers and leverages himself accordingly, he has great moments of run-defense, with the ability to create some negative plays when he’s just asked to win the gap. But he also ends up on the wrong side of blocks because he doesn’t counter the first step(s) of the guy across from him accordingly.
I do appreciate the fact he doesn’t allow himself to get too far off his pass-rush lanes, and his combination of flexibility plus power is pretty nuts. However, there is so much room upwards with pulling off moves cleanly and becoming more productive at the next level.
So, you’re investing into a guy with impressive tools and can be a problem-creator already to some degree, but needs molding to become an every-down player at the next level.
Grade: Second round
Feel free to head over to halilsrealfootballtalk.com for all my draft breakdowns and check out my YouTube channel for even more NFL content!