Felix Anudike-Uzomah NFL Draft 2023: Scouting Report for Kansas State EDGE
HEIGHT: 6'3"
WEIGHT: 255
HAND: 9 5/8"
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ARM: 33 1/2"
WINGSPAN: TBD
40-YARD DASH: TBD
3-CONE: 6.94
SHUTTLE: 4.34
VERTICAL: 34"
BROAD: 10'4"
POSITIVES
— He has good acceleration off the line of scrimmage to put pressure on tackles vertically when he does time up the snap.
— Sets up his pass rush moves well by getting to square and using head/shoulder fakes during the stem phase of the rush.
— Solid use of hands to defeat the hands and defeat the man as a pass-rusher.
— Impressive quickness and change of direction to win with inside or outside stick moves.
— Very bendy at the top of the rush with very flexible ankles to turn tight corners and take efficient paths to the quarterback. Helps as the looper in line games, too.
— Does a good job of keeping his feet moving through contact when working power moves. He can add that to his pass-rush arsenal if he gets stronger.
— Physical at the point of attack when taking on blocks as a run defender.
— Effective as a run defender when slanting. He has good footwork to gain ground both vertically and laterally with his L-step, takes on blocks with good pad level and can get penetration with a head of steam to disrupt blocking schemes.
NEGATIVES
— Inconsistent get-off overall, he takes a while to time up the snap count.
— When he isn't slanting, he has a habit of standing up out of his stance and taking on blocks with sub-par knee bend/leverage.
— Will get kicked inside by combo blocks from tight ends and needs to add strength to hold ground as a run defender. He'll likely struggle against one-on-one blocks from NFL tackles and overall, he ends up on the ground far too often.
— Lacks the upper body strength to get extensions and shed blocks from offensive linemen.
— Block recognition and gap integrity are poor against reach blocks where he'll give up the edge by ducking inside the block, especially if he starts losing.
— Also struggles to keep his hips square to the line of scrimmage when trying to set the edge.
— Doesn't use his hands when bull-rushing, allowing tackles who can absorb contact to latch onto him.
2022 STATISTICS
— 14 GM, 46 TOT, 11 TFL, 8.5 SK, 2 FF, 1 PBU
NOTES
— DOB: January 24, 2002
— A 3-Star recruit in the 2020 class, No. 2,421 overall, 114 WDE, per 247Sports composite rankings
— Injuries: 2021 (Knee, minor, missed some summer practices)
— 27 career starts
— 2022 Honors: Second-Team All-American (Walter Camp, FWAA, AFCA, CBS Sports), Third-Team All-American (AP), Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year (coaches, AP), Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year (coaches), First-Team All-Big 12 (coaches, AP), Lott IMPACT Trophy finalist, Ted Hendricks Award finalist
— 2021 Honors: Third-Team All-American (Phil Steele), First-Team All-Big 12 (coaches, AP)
OVERALL
As a well-accomplished pass-rusher, Felix Anudike-Uzomah should have no problem making an impact on third downs at the next level. He's a quick, twitched-up edge who plays the hands well and might have the best bend of anybody in this draft class. However, his play against the run is a different story.
Anudike-Uzomah lacks strength and ultimately, ends up on the ground too much as a run defender. He really struggles against double teams or combo blocks and will have a hard time holding his ground against one-on-one blocks from offensive tackles at the next level. Also, his upper body strength is sub-par for the position which limits his extension.
However, the Kansas State product can be effective when slanting. That allows him to get a head of steam into blockers and his pad level improves to help overcome some of his strength issues. He's someone who you want to get moving to allow him to use some of his athletic traits to defeat blocks so a scheme that uses a lot of stunts and twists would be best.
As far as even or odd fronts go, Anudike-Uzomah would likely be best as a standup outside linebacker in odd fronts. That way he won't have to take on as many blocks from offensive linemen and can still be an effective pass-rusher. That being said, he'll still be more of a third-down player to begin his career.
GRADE: 7.5 (Potential Impact Player/Round 2)
OVERALL RANK: 49
POSITION RANK: EDGE9
PRO COMPARISON: Yannick Ngakoue
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