Chiefs' Steve Spagnuolo knows rookie Felix Anudike-Uzomah can step up

Having a player get injured just before the Super Bowl, and one that is as good as Charles Omenihu is, is not ideal for the Kansas City Chiefs, especially against a team like the San Francisco 49ers. You need all hands on deck, and the Chiefs will be without one of their best defensive players.

Something similar happened the first time these two teams played. In 2019, Chiefs safety Juan Thornhill tore his ACL before the Super Bowl. He missed the game and had to watch his team lay it all out on the line to win a Lombardi against the 49ers. This will be tough for Omenihu to watch, win or lose.

As for the Chiefs, they are missing a guy who creates pressure at a high rate. Not only that, but Omenihu is versatile. His best work is on obvious passing downs, like third and long plays, where he moves inside at times. In 11 games this year, Omenihu finished with seven sacks. Imagine if he played the full season - we could be saying the Chiefs have three guys with ten or more sacks.

That is exactly why the Chiefs will struggle to replace Omenihu, the former 49ers player. However, they didn't draft a defensive end in the first round of this last draft for no reason.

"You don't replace that height and that length that he has," Steve Spagnuolo said Friday. "But, we will get guys to step in there. Felix [Anudike-Uzomah] will probably have to step in. Everyone has to up their game in a Super Bowl anyway... We feel real confident with where Felix is... it wasn't a reflection on what Felix was doing or not doing, but the other guys were doing pretty good."