Undrafted CB Kohou — Miami’s ultimate feel-good story — couldn’t have had a better debut
A year ago at then-Division II Texas A&M University-Commerce, Kader Kohou was a virtual unknown, on his way to going undrafted in the 2022 NFL Draft. Two weeks ago, he wasn’t even sure he’d make the Miami Dolphins’ final opening-day roster.
Even early in the day Sunday, Kohou didn’t know he’d be playing a major role in the Dolphins’ season-opening 20-7 win against the New England Patriots. All Josh Boyer told him was he’d get into the game on Miami’s third defensive series, meaning he was low down in the pecking order in the secondary.
“You never know what’s going to happen,” Kohou said.
It’s sort of the story of Kohou’s life — he was born in the Ivory Coast, moved to the United States at 9 after his father won the lottery and didn’t become a full-time varsity player until his senior year at Trinity High School in Euless, Texas — and he has always made the most of it. Just making his NFL debut this weekend would’ve been an accomplishment. Instead, he was a hero.
In 17 snaps, the 23-year-old cornerback recorded three tackles, a tackle for loss, a pass defended and a forced fumble. The pass break-up on fourth-and-3 effectively sealed the Dolphins’ win by giving them back the ball with 9:46 left and a 13-point lead and his forced fumble, which led to a recovery for linebacker Jaelan Phillips, ended the Patriots’ next drive as they tried to stage a desperate comeback at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.
The forced fumble was the signature moment in an all-around spectacular performance because it highlighted everything he does well. At 5-foot-10 and 195 pounds of seemingly pure muscle, Kohou waited in the slot to cover any underneath routes on second-and-10 and he pounced as soon as he saw New England quarterback Mac Jones’ look toward Nelson Agholor, timing up the hit perfectly to jar the ball away from the Patriots wide receiver.
His teammates mobbed him when he got to the sideline — defensive lineman Christian Wilkins even accidentally knocked him down when they leaped into each others’ arms — and eventually Boyer tracked him down.
“I told you I had a plan for you,” the defensive coordinator said, as Kohou recalled.
At this rate, the Dolphins (1-0) might need to find him an even bigger one.
This story was originally published September 11, 2022 at 6:38 PM.
