When Kansas City Chiefs fans hear Felix Anudike-Uzomah's name, many probably think of one word: bust. That's not far off, as Anudike-Uzomah, or FAU as he's often referred to as, has certainly not lived up to the first-round hype whatsoever.
Many believe FAU was drafted where he was because the Chiefs were hosting the NFL Draft that year. After all, he was both a Kansas State product and a native of nearby Lee's Summit, Missouri. Taking a local kid with a first-round pick during a draft held in Kansas City just two months after K.C. won another Super Bowl made all the sense in the world at the time.
Unfortunately, Anudike-Uzomah has been underwhelming. Some might think that the lack of production could make him a trade candidate, at least that's what Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report thought, listing FAU as the Chiefs' player to put on the trade block. Ernesto Cova of Musket Fire then followed that up by saying that the New England Patriots could be the perfect landing spot for FAU.
"Of course, he'd likely not be an immediate upgrade for Vrabel's defense, but he's certainly worth the shot. The Chiefs didn't pick up his fifth-year option after he missed the 2025 season with a severe hamstring injury, but it's not like his struggles are all on him," Cova wrote. "The Chiefs brought him in slowly, and their pass-rushing unit has left plenty to be desired as a whole in recent years, even with George Karlaftis and Chris Jones... Anudike-Uzomah was the Big 12's Defensive Player of the Year at one point. Clearly, he hasn't even come close to living up to the hype, but he's just 23 and is on a team-friendly deal."
Moving on from FAU would create another Chiefs problem
While I get where both Knox and Cova are coming from, the fact of the matter is that the Chiefs can't afford to lose FAU, even as lackluster as he's been to this point. The state of the Chiefs' pass rush is in no shape to lose anymore bodies right now and trading FAU away would hurt the depth even more.
Cova even alluded to that in the write-up, noting that the Chiefs' pass rush "has left plenty to be desired". Why then would they surrender one of the few depth pieces they have then?
The Chiefs had a pass-rushing problem last year and still didn't do as much to address it as one would have hoped. Peter Woods and R Mason Thomas have yet to play a snap in the pros so we don't know what the future holds for either of them. Meanwhile, last year's Day 2 picks, Omarr Norman-Lott and Ashton Gillotte, are both nursing injuries. For what it's worth, FAU currently sits behind Gillotte on the depth chart. That's how bleak the position is so you can see now why trading Anudike-Uzomah is not really an option for Kansas City.
The sad truth is that, while Felix Anudike-Uzomah has not played to the level the Chiefs were hoping for, they're in no position to move on from him. The even sadder part is that they have no one to blame for that but themselves.
Maybe, in a contract year, FAU plays well and can earn himself a nice payday in the offseason. Right now though, the only reason he's still in Kansas City is because the Chiefs' pass-rushing depth is quite depressing.
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