Former Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl champion edge rusher Emmanuel Ogbah was notified of his release from the Miami Dolphins on February 23.
That spurred a “random idea” from Arrowhead Addict editor Matt Conner.
“Sign Manny Ogbah as situational pass rusher,” Conner urged. “[He] had 5.5 sacks in 17 games in ‘23 as [a situational pass rusher] for Miami. He’s ideal size, knows the system, and was just released.”
The KC analyst concluded that Ogbah would be “perfect for depth/security for [the] Chiefs in face of [free agency] exits and [Charles] Omenihu’s injury but won’t get in way of youth.”
Examining Emmanuel Ogbah as Free Agent Option for Chiefs
Kansas City has a severe lack of depth on the defensive line heading into free agency, so they do need to either sign or retain a few players this spring. As of February 25, the Chiefs have the following defensive linemen under contract:
Omenihu (likely injured to start 2024 season).
George Karlaftis III (starting DE).
Felix Anudike-Uzomah (rotational DE).
Neil Farrell (rotational DT).
Matt Dickerson (rotational DL).
BJ Thompson (depth DE).
Truman Jones (depth DE).
Isaiah Buggs (depth DT).
Obviously, that doesn’t include Chris Jones or any other impending free agents that could return, but it feels like a veteran addition like Ogbah could at least be useful early on.
Now, looking at Ogbah’s efficiency as a pass rusher in recent years, is he worth a one-year reunion?
Entering his age-31 campaign in 2024, Ogbah’s usage has been cut by more than 50% over his past two seasons with Miami. He had a 10.3% pass rush win-rate in 2021, leading the Dolphins in quarterback pressures and batted passes with 61 and 11.
In 2022, his pass rush win-rate dropped to 8.0% with just 15 QB pressures and zero batted passes. Those totals occurred over 43.1% of the snap share.
Fast-forward to 2023, Ogbah’s win-rate went back up to 10.2%, which was comparable to his efficiency in 2021 when he led the Dolphins in pressures. His PRP — a PFF formula that “combines sacks, hits and hurries relative to how many times they rush the passer” — was actually better this past season despite his snap share decreasing by almost 67% from 2021.
In other words, Ogbah is still productive when it comes to his bread and butter. The area he really struggled with in 2023 was containment.
Playing limited snaps last year, Ogbah’s missed tackle rate surged to a career-high 27.8%. His career average in this department is 12.4%.
Having said that, Conner specifically suggested using Ogbah as a situational pass rusher. If deployed properly in a part-time role, the former Chief could likely still make an impact in Steve Spagnuolo’s system.
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