The Kansas City Chiefs introduced the newest member of their defense on Thursday.
Charles Omenihu officially inked his deal with the team after agreeing to a deal with the Chiefs during the legal tampering period. He joins the Chiefs Kingdom after 1.5 years playing with the San Francisco 49ers, starting out there as a rotational pass-rusher. In Kansas City, there seems to be an expectation that Omenihu could play an every-down role. He has the versatility to play edge rusher on early downs and work on the defensive interior on key pass-rushing downs.
Omenihu was asked about what makes him ready for a chance to be a starter during his introductory press conference. His explanation should get fans really excited for the future.
“Just understanding the importance of playing the run,” Omenihu said. “It’s the first step of getting to the quarterback. My role with the (49ers), I mean, I played as much as a starter would. My first chance, stepping on the field, was to rush the quarterback. So, I just had that mode of getting to the quarterback or affecting the quarterback. But now, being in the game and having a chance to be a starter, I feel like I can more so set up guys so I don’t always have to go for the kill shot rush. I can set up guys and really play the long game.”
Omenihu is thinking about the big picture now. It’s not simply about getting to the quarterback every snap that he’s on the field. He has to earn the right to rush the passer by stopping the run and then eventually pick his moment to go for the kill.
This was something that Frank Clark was really exceptional at during the course of his Chiefs career. It’s why Clark had so many of those clutch performances in the postseason. Now it seems as if the newest member of the defense is attempting to follow in his footsteps with that same mentality.
“Once you set guys up and keep them off balance,” Omenihu concluded. “In my opinion, that’s when you can really dice people up and have multi-sack kind of games when you do that.
