As the Kansas City Chiefs push through the heart of training camp in St. Joseph, defensive end Charles Omenihu feels a renewed sense of strength and consistency and sees promising development around him.
“I feel a lot better,” Omenihu said, reflecting on his current form compared to late last season. The seven-year veteran says he sees a noticeable difference in his consistency and explosiveness.
“I feel as strong as I’ve ever been,” he revealed. “I’m glad that I’m back at full strength for the first time since when I first got here, so it should bode well for me.”
After a brief scuffle between Chiefs rookies Ashton Guillotte and Justin Simmons on Tuesday’s camp, Omenihu was asked about the situation from his perspective.
“Everybody’s competitive, everybody got fire under them and that’s what you need to play O-line [or] D-line….a guy that ain’t gonna take no crap out there,” Omenihu said. “It’s just guys who want to get better and guys that want to compete and sometimes it spews a little over, but it’s all it’s part of it, it’s good.”
As temperatures and emotions continue rising during training camp, Charles Omenihu stressed the value of mental and physical endurance.
“Being able to just push through just to work on your endurance, work on your capability to still play at a high level under great duress,” Omenihu said. “The play call is getting in and you’re tired, you’re huffing and puffing, and be able to execute is also something I think that is key when you’re going through practices like this.”
Omenihu highlighted the progress of defensive rookies Omarr Norman-Lott and Ashton Gillotte, pointing out that Norman-Lott has already developed a hand technique that took him years to learn at the NFL level.
“I noticed early on that [Norman-Lott] was able to grab wrists… it took me about 3-4 years to be able to do that,” he said. “[Gillotte is] a guy that just wants to learn, and he’s a guy that had a lot of power, so that’s something he can use to his advantage as he continues to fill out his game in the league.”
Omenihu has also been impressed with rookie offensive tackle Josh Simmons during camp. When asked about what it has been like to go up against Simmons in practice, Omenihu remarked that he knows his strengths and plays to them.
“I think he has a bright future,” Omenihu said, praising Simmons. “He’s a great athlete (and) you can see why he’s the first-round pick.”