When the Miami Dolphins signed cornerback Kader Kohou as an undrafted free agent out of Texas A&M Commerce this offseason, they probably weren’t expecting him to have much of an impact in his rookie season.
While Miami’s done a commendable job finding capable NFL players in the undrafted free agent pool, hit rates in those groups are still rather low.
However, Kohou made the 53-man roster out of training camp, and due to injuries to guys like Byron Jones, Nik Needham and Trill Williams, he’s been asked to take on a significant role.
In the eight games that he’s played, Kohou has been on the field for 78% of the Dolphins’ defensive snaps, recording 39 tackles, five passes defensed and a forced fumble.
His play has been impressive enough that Pro Football Focus’ Marcus Mosher has ranked him as the 23rd-best cornerback in the league through the first 10 weeks of the 2022 campaign.
Here’s what Mosher wrote about Kohou:
“Another rookie cornerback who deserves a place here, Kader Kohou has had to play a ton this year due to all of the injuries in Miami’s secondary. And he has performed well. He is currently PFF’s No. 14-graded cornerback this season (76.5), as he has yet to allow a single touchdown on 417 snaps. Kohou has let up a few big plays in the passing game, but he has performed exceptionally well for a rookie undrafted free agent.”
Kohou has been strong in coverage despite making a tremendous leap from his collegiate level of competition to the NFL. However, one thing that’s stood out about his performance has been his willingness to make tackles and help in the run game. That’s not something that every cornerback possesses.
