Don't sleep on Charles Omenihu during the Super Bowl
You may have heard this before: Charles Omenihu is underrated.
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Omenihu, a four-year contributor for Texas from 2015-18 who made 33 starts at Texas and earned Big 12 defensive lineman of the year honors in 2018, returned to the Kansas City Chiefs in week 13 after tearing his ACL during last season’s AFC Championship game. While Chris Jones rightfully hogs a lot of the headlines, Omenihu has played a critical role on Steve Spagnolo‘s defense as the Chiefs look to win their third consecutive Super Bowl title.
Omenihu made his return versus Las Vegas on November 29 and has seen his workload increase throughout the home stretch of the regular season and Kansas City’s run to the AFC Championship. In the divisional playoff game versus Houston, the team that drafted him in the fifth round in 2019, Omenihu logged 35 snaps and recorded four tackles, including a sack of CJ Stroud in KC’s 23-14 win. Then in the AFC Championship game versus Buffalo, Omenihu had two tackles with one of them being for loss.
The 6-foot-5, 280-pounder flies under the radar and is listed as second on the depth chart at his position by 2022 first-round pick George Karlaftis. Karlaftis has earned his spot in the starting lineup, but Omenihu gives KC a one-two at defensive end that makes life tough for opposing quarterbacks and offenses.
Omenihu is in the second season of a two-year deal with the Chiefs and is on his way toward unrestricted free agency in the postseason. He’s unlikely to break the bank whenever he signs with a new team, but fans and front offices will likely look up next year at a sturdy season from the Rowlett (Texas) product and wonder why they didn’t do more research on Omenihu.
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His Chiefs will face a significant challenge on Sunday in the form of the Philadelphia Eagles. Between Saquon Barkley, Jalen Hurts, AJ Brown, and DeVonta Smith, the Eagles have a considerable amount of weapons at their disposal in their attempt to foil a Kansas City three-peat.
While Jones, Karlaftis, Nick Bolton, Drue Tranquill, and Justin Reid may be the players most will focus their attention on, Omenihu has a penchant for making key plays at important junctures for the Chiefs, especially as a run defender. He might be flying under the radar, but Omenihu has done that his whole career.
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Any plays from No. 90 in red and gold might arrive as a shock to others, but for Texas fans who watched Omenihu thrive during his career in burnt orange, a game-altering play would come as no surprise.
