The 2023 NFL Scouting Combine is well underway, but prospects will take the field for the first time on Thursday for on-field drills and workouts. You can watch the edge rushers, interior defensive linemen and linebackers workout from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET on NFL Network.
The Kansas City Chiefs added a number of young contributors to the team via the draft just a season ago. Several of those players posted impressive performances at the combine. The team will look to follow up its standout 2022 draft class by adding even more instant-impact players in 2023.
Keep an eye on the following three edge rushers working out on Thursday. A head-turning performance could put any number of the players squarely on the radar for Brett Veach and company.
K-State EDGE Felix Anudike-Uzomah
Brett Veach has always maintained that you should do everything possible to ensure that good players from the area don’t leave it. As a Kansas City native who just went up I-70 to Manhattan, Kansas for college, Anudike-Uzomah fits that description. Listed at 6-foot-4 and 255 pounds, he has the prototypical build for Steve Spagnuolo’s wants at the position. He was highly productive over the past two seasons, recording 96 total tackles, 25.5 tackles for loss, 19.5 sacks and 87 total pressures. The motor, bend, speed and power all flash on tape for the K-State wildcat. How all of that translates at the combine could be the difference between becoming an early-round selection and a Day 2 pick for Anudike-Uzomah.
Ole Miss EDGE Tavius Robinson
At the Senior Bowl in February, Robinson weighed in at 6-foot-6 and 257 pounds with 34-inch arms and an 80-inch wingspan. He meets all of the thresholds that Steve Spagnuolo likes for his edge rushers and then some. Not to mention, Robinson also showcases quite a bit of inside-outside versatility. He finished the 2022 season at Ole Miss with seven tackles for loss, six sacks, four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, a pass batted and 40 total pressures. Robinson compares rather favorably to Carlos Dunlap, whose future with the Chiefs and in the NFL is undecided. Testing on Thursday could prove to be the boon that helps this lengthy pass-rusher rise up the draft boards.
Eastern Michigan EDGE Jose Ramirez
Weighing in at a hair under 6-2 and 249 pounds at the Shrine Bowl, Ramirez is one of the more intriguing late-round edge rusher prospects in this class. He might not meet all of Steve Spagnuolo’s thresholds exactly, but he’s not too light or small to be considered an outlier. He was an extremely disruptive player at Eastern Michigan in 2022, notching 19.5 tackles for loss, 12 sacks and 50 total quarterback pressures. He boasts tons of speed, power, quickness and natural bend, which should show up during his on-field testing and drills on Thursday.
