The Miami Dolphins are looking at an unheralded group of cornerbacks with the looming Jalen Ramsey departure. This week in organized team activities, young and unproven cornerbacks are trying to separate themselves from the pack.
The room’s elder statesman, who signed with the Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2022, is slot specialist Kader Kohou. While he’s played at multiple spots in the Miami secondary, Kohou has found a home in the nickel role, and has his position on lockdown.
Now entering his fourth NFL season, Kohou is stepping up as a leader in the cornerback room and he says he’s seen good things out of the team’s young defensive backs. Specifically, fifth-round rookie Jason Marshall, Jr., has caught his eye.
“Man, he’s a baller,” Kohou said. “He’s quiet. He comes every day ready to work. He’s like a sponge, he’s always taking notes and stuff like that. He’s big, athletic — he has a chance to be a really good player.”
Kohou also had plenty to say about, Ethan Bonner and Storm Duck, two former undrafted signees who have been recognized by coaches this week for their hard work.
“Ballers.” Kohou said. “Undrafted guys, hungry as hell. So they just be making plays. They’re always here, always present, always trying to learn, no cockiness or ego about them. They’re just open to listen to coaches, other players. They’re just hungry.”
Kohou can relate. It wasn’t long ago that he had to earn a spot on the 53-man roster as an undrafted addition.
“I feel like in our room we don’t have a lot of high draft picks or guys that are established in the league so there’s like just a hunger,” Kohou said. “Our whole room, you can just feel the hunger and everybody is trying to compete. We’re always competing with each other, competing with the offense.”
On a team that has a clear void in leadership, with basically half of last year’s captains gone, Kohou seems to have tossed his helmet in the ring of consideration. And that starts with leading a culture change in the Dolphins secondary.
“We got to kind of get a new identity,” Kohou said. “There’s not gonna be a lot of slack and stuff like that. Everybody has to be on their [expletive], really.”
Kohou recorded eight pass defenses and a pair of interceptions, a career-high, in 2024. He also forced a fumble and recovered one. Quarterbacks had a 79.3 rating when targeting Kohou, and he held passers to a 65.2 percent completion rate last season, much better than his 2023 rate of 81.9 percent.
This article originally appeared on Dolphins Wire: Kader Kohou praises young ‘ballers’ in Dolphins CB room