School: Kansas State
Position: EDGE
Year: Junior
The Good: Felix Anudike-Uzomah (FAU) leaves Kansas State early as an uber productive pass rusher (19.5 sacks across 2021-2022, Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year). FAU can basically get to opposing QBs however he wants; he has active hands and a multitude of developed rush moves to get around OTs, and he can knock OTs to the ground too when he charges up. For his thick build. FAU can turn a tight corner and has enough lateral quickness. He’s plenty strong with pop in his hands and a good lower half that allows him to progress towards QBs and ball carriers through heavy blocking. FAU has one of the best motors in this EDGE class and generates pressure as consistently as anyone else too.
The Bad: I mentioned that FAU has a good, thick build – and that’s true – but he is on the smaller side for a down lineman at 6’3”, 255lbs. He has the measurables that better suit a stand-up EDGE who gets after QBs from a wide alignment, but FAU is definitely best as a traditional 4-3 DE. FAU doesn’t hold his ground well enough against the run yet, and he needs improvement as a consistent gap filler. Though he’s quick and bendy enough, FAU doesn’t bring high-end pure speed to the table, and he has a slower get-off too.
The Bottom Line: So far in this write-up, FAU’s profile sounds similar to that of other EDGE prospects that I’ve already covered: good pass rusher with some flaws and a poor run defender. There’s some truth to that, but I hold a higher opinion of FAU. One, he’s a great pass rusher who’s remarkably refined for a 21 year-old, and I think many within the Draft community are underselling his natural tools. I also loved how competitive and productive FAU remained during his junior season when he faced increased attention from opposing offenses and constant double teams. Two, FAU isn’t much of a run defender yet but I think he can get there with time and more coaching; he has the right stuff to hold his own. Put that all together and you have an extremely young, productive, and high energy EDGE prospect who’s potentially elite against the pass and solid against the run? That sounds like a player 32 of 32 teams would be interested in to me.
Also, one more quick thing: I know the recent history of Big 12 defensive prospects in the NFL Draft is terrible, but that conference has gotten way tougher in recent years and FAU was plenty good enough against Missouri and Tulane in 2022.
Grade: Late First Round / Early Second Round
Pro Comp: Jerry Hughes
Games Watched:
- TCU 2021
- Missouri 2022
- Oklahoma 2022
- Texas Tech 2022
- Oklahoma State 2022
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