Charles Omenihu reveals why he signed with the Chiefs and didn't return to the 49ers in free agency
As we all know, the Kansas City Chiefs did not prioritize wide receivers in this past free agency, which resulted in the Chiefs' offense taking a hit. Yet, somehow, they still ended up making a Super Bowl – because they have Patrick Mahomes at quarterback and an elite defense to back him.A huge reason why […]
As we all know, the Kansas City Chiefs did not prioritize wide receivers in this past free agency, which resulted in the Chiefs' offense taking a hit. Yet, somehow, they still ended up making a Super Bowl – because they have Patrick Mahomes at quarterback and an elite defense to back him.
A huge reason why they have an elite defense is because of the things they did in free agency to improve the unit on that side of the ball, such as signing guys like Mike Edwards, Drue Tranquill, and Charles Omenihu, all guys you could give that "steal" title to.
Omenihu, despite playing just 11 games, was likely one of the bigger names in free agency. He was able to become a guy who helped on obvious passing downs but also played great run defense. The Chiefs got him on a two-year, $16 million deal, which included a $7 million signing bonus. That's cheap, but for some reason, as he recently revealed, the 49ers didn't want to bring him back.
"Why would I have done that, and they didn't want to pay me?" Omenihu wrote on Twitter.
And that's a great question, but the even better question is, why didn't the 49ers want to pay him? At the time, he was one of the best young pass rushers in the league that no one knew about. When you break down the advanced stats, he has every tool to become an elite pass rusher.
At the time, here was a list of the edge rushers last season who had a higher pass-rush win rate than Omenihu: Myles Garrett, Nick Bosa, Micah Parsons, Za'Darius Smith, and Trey Hendrickson. Per Pro Football Focus, his pass rush win rate is 20.7%, which is higher than Chris Jones' 20.4%, the highest in his position.
For reference, Frank Clark, who Omenihu basically replaced, was 37th in pass rush win rate at 13%. Omenihu was also in the top 16 in all players' total pressures, with 62. The former fifth-rounder in the 2019 draft is also just 26 years old.
The Chiefs got an absolute steal, even if he isn't playing in the Super Bowl. He is still a huge reason Kansas City is playing on Sunday.
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