Below are quotes from Andy Reid and Chiefs GM Brett Veach following Day 1 of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Andy Reid
OPENING STATEMENT: “Alright, so with our first pick here, we are glad to welcome aboard (Felix)
Anudike‐Uzomah. How’d I do? That was good. Felix, Felix. Felix is a heck of a player, (he’s) from Kansas
State. (He’s) a defensive end (and) we love his ability to rush the passer and play the run, he does both
very well. He’s also a Kansas City native here, so we appreciate that part of it too but most of all (he’s) a
good football player. When you’re picking right there at 31, you try to take the best player that’s available
to you on the board and he was that guy and so we feel very comfortable bringing him into our program.
(He’s) a great kid. (I) had a chance to hang with him here during our local pro day, and (I) enjoyed talking
with him and visiting with him there. With that, the time’s yours.”
Q: On the call to Felix Anudike‐Uzomah.
REID: “So, (General Manager) Brett (Veach) called him initially and talked to him. By the time I got to him
(Felix Anudike‐Uzomah) he couldn’t hear me and I couldn’t hear him (laughs) so I was just passing the
phone on. He was obviously at a party – there was a party going on there.”
Q: How much is Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo in your ear about how much Felix Anudike‐
Uzomah fits into what he likes to do on defense?
REID: “Listen, Spags and our defensive staff did a great job of sorting all these guys out. (Defensive Line
Coach) Joe Cullen is relentless with the (evaluations) – He evaluates everybody. If it says defensive line on
it, he’s going to evaluate them. That’s Joe Cullen (that) I’m talking about. He loved him, Spags loved him
(so) it was pretty easy. (A) pretty easy decision right there.”
Q: How close is Felix Anudike‐Uzomah to being able to help you right away?
REID: “I think he’ll definitely be able to – barring an injury or something, Adam (Teicher) but I think he’ll
be able to help us right away.”
Q: In both phases of the game? Both pass rush and run downs?
REID: “Yeah, sure. I think he can give you a lot of snaps in both places.”
Q: How much of your guys’ thinking was about an attacking edge rusher in this first round versus drafting
the best player available?
REID: “We kind of start there on the offensive line then check those out and make sure we’re in good
position in both. We thought that we could use another defensive lineman, either interior or an edge
rusher – or an edge player so he fits into that.”
Q: Do you feel like there are less “needs” that need to be filled this year rather than other years?
REID: “I’d probably tell you yes. I feel that way. But, what you want to do is you want to bring in guys that
can play but also have great competition. That kind of makes everybody better. And particularly when
you’re down there low – I thought (General Manager) Brett (Veach) did a great job of staying discipline
with what the (Draft) board was showing him and not going somewhere of just absolute need. So that’s
because we don’t have a lot of those.”
Q: Will Felix Anudike‐Uzomah play the role that Frank Clark played last year on the opposite side of George
Karlaftis?
REID: “Yeah, we’ll see where he’s most comfortable – what side he’s most comfortable on and go from
there but we’ll have a nice rotation there, I think. Once it’s all said and done.
Q: How confident are you that Felix Anudike‐Uzomah can produce the same productivity as DE George
Karlaftis?
REID: “Yeah, l think you get that same play time amount from him. Again, that’s a long ways away but we
felt comfortable enough in the first round to take him and not trade ourselves out of the first round which
we had opportunities to do but we felt we wanted to stay right there and take him.”
Q: What did Felix Anudike‐Uzomah do that stood out from the rest of the local talent?
REID: “Well he didn’t work out, he stood right next to me. He came up just to talk to us and didn’t do his
workout at that time.”
Q: On the scouting benefit of Felix Anudike‐Uzomah having a lot of snaps within his college career.
REID: “Yeah, I think that’s big for that part of it. I know our guys came out feeling very comfortable about
the way he plays, and I think I might have answered your question there, but I think our guys felt
comfortable with all the stuff that they saw there.”
Q: Felix Anudike‐Uzomah turned 21 this year, how do you see him evolving over the next few years?
REID: “Yeah, he’s young. So listen, you’re going to see growth in that first year. Probably a little bit less
the second year but you’ll still get something ‐ that’s normal. Again, I would like to get hands on him
before I start filling all that in.”
Q: How special is drafting a player from Kansas State with the NFL Draft in town?
REID: “Yeah, I think it’s neat and then the draft’s right here in Kansas City. I know the people down at the
Draft were excited. We’re on the tv and they were fired up about it so Kansas State, Kansas City, and then
the Draft. I think that’s a real positive. I was proud of our fansthey showed up like crazy today down there.
That was a neat deal.”
Q: Did you seriously consider drafting out or did Chairman/CEO Clark Hunt have any poll in that situation
in wanting to announce the first‐round pick?
REID: “Yeah, well I don’t think he would have risked that if we felt like we wanted to trade out, but you
get to that point and if you’re that pick, you’re going to have opportunities to trade out and so people
were calling us but again, we felt very comfortable taking him.”
Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach Quotes
OPENING STATEMENT: “Alright well appreciate you guy sticking around. It’s one of those good
problems to have when you have to wait till the end of the Draft to make a selection, but needless to
say, we’re excited to add Felix (Anudike‐Uzomah) to this roster and just want to first give a shoutout to
the amazing fans that filled the streets downtown. What an awesome site. What an awesome night for
Kansas City. All the feedback I got from all the NFL members downtown working this game (2023 NFL
Draft), they couldn’t be more excited for the turnout tonight. Again, quite an exciting night for us, and
(I’m) excited to add Felix to this roster and with that I’ll take your questions.”
Q: What was the conversation like when you first called Felix Anudike‐Uzomah?
VEACH: “Oh no he was super excited. It’s one thing obviously just to get drafted in the NFL but then to
have a local kid to get that kid on Draft night, while the draft is being held in Kansas City. Needless to
say, he was really excited and obviously the conversation went really well.”
Q: What did you see from him as a prospect?
VEACH: “Yeah, well we had a chance to see him obviously, for playing right down the road there in
Manhattan, but you know one of the younger guys in the Draft too, I think he just turned 21 and he’s
done nothing but grow and develop throughout the last couple of years. We’re excited for (Defensive
Coordinator) Steve (Spagnuolo) and for (Defensive Line Coach) Joe Cullen to get their hands on him now
and continue that growth and trajectory uphill, but again, anytime you can add a premium position and
one of the youngest players in the draft and have that to work with for a long time is something we’re
excited about.”
Q: How confident are you that by Day 1 you can get him ready to step into the rotation of the defensive
line and play?
VEACH: “Yeah, I feel really good about not just the prospect but the coaching staff we have. Those guys
(are) great teachers, great coaches and we had an opportunity to spend a lot of time with Felix, being so
close, so again, (Defensive Line Coach) Joe’s (Cullen) excited, (Defensive Coordinator) Steve’s
(Spagnuolo) excited and think he’ll come right in here and having him next to George (Karlaftis) here for
the next handful of years is something those guys will quickly develop a bond and they’ll be a good one‐
two tandem there for the next few years.”
Q: When you got on the clock, was he the declared guy or was there a process you went through to
select him?
VEACH: “No, he was the top guy. We did have some calls, I think (Head) Coach (Andy Reid) maybe
mentioned that. It’s a situation though when you have a guy that is clearly the top guy left and then you
know the calls that we had were – you’re talking mid‐40’s. It’s a long way away and then you’re going to
end up just trading those picks to try to get back up and get a guy like Felix, so we thought let’s not get
cute here. There’s a guy we like (at a) position that we need, and we’ll just go ahead and make the pick
and certainly glad we did.”
Q: Was there a possibility of trading up earlier in the Draft? Were you close at all?
VEACH: “Yeah, we had conversations and some of the teams that we spoke to earlier in the day, I mean,
you know the price was pretty steep at the time and then there was a window, I think, minus the Bills
moving up two spots with the four, there was conversation that we had with teams. You know when it
was their time to pick, they were staying, they weren’t trading. You know Jacksonville had that small
move with Buffalo there at four and the teams around they were not interested in trading and then
teams higher than that, the asking price was a lot. You know having picks the next couple of days, having
a two, a three, two fours, we still want to deal in volume here. We want to get some good players and
we just thought it was best to keep those picks and have an arsenal the next few days.”
Q: You mentioned the premium positions. Did you go into this draft thinking we’ve got to get an edge
rusher the first ‘x’ amount of rounds or anything?
VEACH: “Well I think you know just looking at our roster there were check boxes that we wanted to
address throughout the weekend and whether that was defensive end or a skill position or offensive line
or what have you, we just wanted to come away with one of those premium positions right off the bat
and then work from there and see how the board goes. But, again, when we were sitting there at 31, he
was the top guy on the board, and it made that decision easy.”
Q: Did he rise up your board specifically because of your need or because of his position?
VEACH: “Well he was on our ‐ are you asking if he rose if the draft was going on?”
Q: Was it more based on the team’s need or the player himself?
VEACH: “Really the player himself. We’re going to set our board and our board is going to stay locked in
and then we’re going to follow the board and then when we get to our pick it’s pretty easy I think when
you set that board and stay true to it and when you get your pick you face a decision of take the highest
guy on your board or trade down and again, then you’re looking at a scenario where you’re probably
trying to trade back up to get the same player. He was a top guy on the board and a position we need so
it made sense at the time and you know, again, certainly excited for the next few days and the
additional picks we have coming up.”
Q: How do you feel now about the group of guys you have on the edge?
VEACH: “Yeah, no, listen it’s a good group. We’ve got a lot of young guys now. We’ve brought in Charles
(Omenihu) and we have some flex with Charles and now we have George (Karlaftis), Felix (Anudike‐
Uzomah) is in there and certainly with Chris (Jones), Turk (Tershawn) Wharton is coming back now from
an injury now so we’re excited to get him back and he looks good so again, can’t have enough depth on
that defensive line and that’s something that we’re always going to look to add. So, we’re excited to add
Felix tonight and get ready for tomorrow and for Saturday.”
Q: You’ve talked about some of the excitement from Defensive Line Coach Joe Cullen and Defensive
Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. What is it that excites them about him? What excites you about him?
VEACH: “Just the motor, the relentless effort. Again, guy that had a ton of production at Kansas State as
I mentioned, just turned 21 so a majority of this production was coming in a big time conference at 19
and 20 years old so I think every year he’s been there you can see the growth and development and
being so young, I still think there’s a huge window for him to continue to grow and develop and we’re
excited that we get him at this stage of his career and being so young. We’ve got a lot of years to
continue to grow and develop him.”
Q: Head Coach Andy Reid credited you for having discipline tonight. How difficult was it to maintain
discipline tonight?
VEACH: “Yeah, it’s one of those things where you’re just trying to calculate and when you’re on the
clock there and teams are trying to trade up there right at the end. Just trying to read the board and I
think it wasn’t that hard just because again, the trade offers were so far down in the mid‐40s where you
just try to quickly do the math in your mind and think about the board and how it’s likely to play out
tomorrow. Just, the fact of the matter was it was just a matter of us having to use a lot of those assets to
go right back up and sometimes when you get too cute you just miss out on a good player, so we just
wanted to sit there and do what made sense and that was just make the selection.”
Q: How many guys did you have first‐round grades on? Was Felix Anudike‐Uzomah one of those guys?
VEACH: “I think we had, you know, a handful of guys, 16‐18 guys. Felix was right up there in that list. You
know, these lists are different depending on whether or not you count the quarterbacks, right? So, we
have a little different model that we use just to kind of project where guys are going to go and what
we’re going to do but I think all these teams by the time you get to the 20s, you’re picking on guys that if
they’re not first round value picks, I mean they’re high twos. These drafts turn into first rounders are 15
and then even the picks at 25, 28, 30 they’re right there so these values are all the same when you get
to pick 31.”
Q: There was a wide receiver run around pick 20. How did the strategy change and was there temptation
to move up?
VEACH: “Yeah, I mean – like you said Pete (Sweeney) the run was there with the wideouts there and we
had gotten out in front of that, though and we kind of knew where the market was. Obviously, there were
a few teams that were up there and they were AFC teams and they weren’t interested in talking to us and
trading with us. And after you get locked out of there of not being able to trade then it comes into ‘well,
we would do it but the asking price is going to be even more than what you would think.’ So, (It’s) just one
of those thingsthat you’ve just got to stay discipline and know that the object is to fill out a deep, talented
roster and you have to work with the strength in numbers and obviously our guys do a great job of
identifying talent throughout the course of the draft. So, I think that’s the part of being disciplined there.
You could be too aggressive at times but when teams want – it’s a little bit tougher sometimes when
you’re dealing with teams in certain positions that are in your division or conference or what have you or
teams that you’ll play. The asking price may be more. So we were aware of that and then it was just a
matter of doing what made sense for our team in the long run.”
Q: Felix Anudike‐Uzomah seems pretty durable. Do you agree?
VEACH: “Durable, healthy, young and again, a guy that plays a premium position (and) a guy that’s
continued to grow and develop and again, had a lot of exposure of seeing him a ton and (I) got the chance
to meet with him on multiple occasions. Certainly that played into it and again, a ton of production for a
guy that really did a bulk of that work at 19 (and) 20 years old in those big time conference. (And) going
against some really good tackles the last couple of years. A lot of these guys have gotten drafted early and
played early and they’ve had success in the NFL so the sky’s the limit there. With our coaching staff, we’re
excited for him to come in here and continue this upward trajectory.”
Q: With the first round in the books, what would you say your priorities are going into day two?
VEACH: “Yeah, I think – Herbie (Teope) you can make a case for other than a linebacker, I think – again,
I’ve been down this road a few times and you may go into a season thinking that you’re good at a position
and then – a couple years ago, I think our first Super Bowl run in ’19, we lost three defensive ends within
a matter of three or four weeks. So you’ve got to plan and prepare for a 20‐game season hopefully and I
think that when you have that mindset these guysthat lineup and start week one, they never end up being
the same starting lineup (in) week 17,18, 19, 20 (or) into the playoffs. Other than positions, I think that
we just have numbers and there’s just not enough play time to go around. I think anything’s on the table
rather it be offensive line, more defensive line, cornerbacks, (or) receivers. That’s where I think that you
just stay true to the board and when you have a guy that when the value fits where you’re picking. Other
than you can make a case for linebacker, I think anything will be on the table for sure.
Q: Last week you mentioned this class being heavy defensive back wise. Is that position still in your
thought process?
VEACH: “I think it’s an opportunity where it’s one of those premium positions that I think you’re going to
find a lot of guys that are super talented and (can) come in right away and not just make the team but
push for playing time. Anytime you have one of those positions and you have a lot of depth in numbers, I
don’t think you discount – ‘maybe you need another this or that’ when you have a guy that you think is –
like tomorrow if we’re picking at 63 and there’s a guy that we felt is a second round talent cornerback and
he’s on the board I think you stay true to the board, just like we did tonight.”