One of the top priorities for the Kansas City Chiefs this offseason will be upgrading their defensive line after a less-than-stellar 2025 campaign. The Chiefs can make those additions in free agency and in the NFL draft.
The Chiefs’ defensive line was non-existent, as they finished a dismal 23rd in sacks (35) and only had 137 quarterback pressures, which is nowhere near the top of the league. That belongs to Kansas City's AFC West rival, the Denver Broncos, who had 213 pressures.
Kansas City was hoping that veteran defensive end Charles Omenihu could be an impact player in 2025 after they re-signed him to a one-year, $4 million deal last offseason. However, that plan did not work out at all for the Chiefs, and it's possible that Kansas City could opt to go in a different direction in replacing Omenihu.
This past season, the veteran defensive lineman recorded 28 combined tackles, 16 quarterback pressures, 13 quarterback hits, five tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks across 17 games. Those are not terrible numbers, especially considering that Omenihu only played in six games in 2024 after missing the start of that season with an ACL injury, which he suffered in the 2023 AFC title game.
The Chiefs would be foolish not to look for an upgrade, as this team desperately needs more firepower off the edge to compete with the Broncos or the New England Patriots, who were the runners-up in Super Bowl 60.
Charles Omenihu Has Likely Played His Last Down for Chiefs
According to Pro Football Focus, Omenihu’s pass rush grade wasn’t anything to write home about, as it was 58.8, which is good for 90th among 115 qualified edges. However, while he struggled getting after the quarterback, he thrived in stopping the run.
Omenhinu’s run defense grade was a 75.0 (ranked 14th among 115 qualified edges), which is higher than George Karlaftis (70.4), Ashton Gillotte (66.7), and Mike Danna (55.0).
Karlaftis is a better all-around pass rusher than Omenihu, and Gillotte has a higher upside as a young pass rusher. Omenihu is better than Danna at this point, but that’s not saying much in the grand scheme of things.
Spotrac projects the 28-year-old defensive end’s calculated market value as a one-year deal worth $3.5 million. The Chiefs could bring him back at that price, or go after a guy like Kingsley Enagbare, who is slowly coming into his own as a pass rusher.
Enagbare’s market value is a two-year, $11.8 million deal ($5.9 AAV), and would be better as an option based on age, as he just turned 26 and is solid as a run defender. Or maybe the Chiefs entertain going after Al-Quadin Muhammad, who is older (30), and coming off a career-high 11-sack season.
The Chiefs should have various options at their disposal, and they should exhaust all of them as they can’t run it back with the same crew of players on the defensive line, which includes Omenihu.