The Kansas City Chiefs received favorable grades for their signing of defensive lineman Charles Omenihu in free agency, and early indications are that he will play an outsized role in the team’s front four next season.
Omenihu has gifts that will help him contribute to the team’s defensive line from a number of different alignments. He explained to reporters during his introductory press conference the different advantages that this flexibility should bring to the Chiefs’ pass rush.
“I think the versatility is just something that is a known thing so that was something that was brought up, but not something that we talked too much in depth about,” Omenihu explained. “It was just something, I think that looking at me as a player or profile that I can rush inside I can rush outside, rush over the center, whatever you need me to do I’ve shown that I can do it throughout my career. What I think I bring to the table is a guy that can do that.
“I think I’m a guy that can play the run of first (or) second down and play over tight ends and be in the nine and the five and then I think I can rush on the edge if you need me to depending however we want to do it and rush inside so I think that versatility is what I bring to the table. A guy that’s going to play hard, very much a guy that’s going to stuff the run because I know when you play the run well you can have some fun rushing the quarterback.”
Time will tell if Omenihu is able to maintain his production in Kansas City, but the Chiefs certainly seem to have found a player who can fill multiple needs for them on their defensive front after the loss of veterans Frank Clark and Khalen Saunders.
