Did the Vikings find a steal in the sixth round of this year’s NFL draft with Penn State linebacker Kobe King? There are a few reasons to believe he might be a nice find for Minnesota and defensive coordinator Brian Flores moving forward.
ESPN’s Matt Miller recently named King, who was the 201st overall selection this year, as the “best value pick” of the entire sixth round.
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“King is a run-and-chase linebacker who is tough for blockers to handle when he’s crashing downhill in the run game,” Miller wrote. “He was graded as a fourth-rounder on my board thanks to his between-the-tackles toughness, so the Vikings received exceptional value selecting him toward the end of Round 6.”
King, a 22-year-old Detroit native, had the best season of his college career last year, recording 97 tackles, nine for loss, three sacks, and a forced fumble. He’s not the biggest player or the most fluid athlete, but he has a quick first step coming downhill and brings a lot physicality as a run defender. His skills in that area are evident in his 90.8 PFF run defense grade over the last two seasons, which ranks second among all off-ball linebackers in that span.
Working on a 2025 LB superlatives article and by far the easiest choice was Kobe King → Best Block Shedder. Most linebackers into today’s CFB don’t have a reel half this long pic.twitter.com/Wm0je3xRhK
“I’m an aggressive linebacker,” King said after the draft. “I like to get downhill, shoot gaps, play fast, physical.”
Last season, King was a team captain at Penn State and a second-team All-Big Ten selection. Here’s the scouting report from The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, who also gave King a fourth-round grade:
“With his violent play style, there is nothing passive about the way King plays downhill — he relies on his eyes, timing and physicality to muck up the run game. He is an adequate athlete in coverage and often finds himself in striking distance, but his lack of on-ball production reflects his struggles to impact the catch point. Overall, King will be targeted by offenses in coverage, but he fills quickly and powerfully at contact with the skill set to be a useful run defender. He projects as a throwback, early-down NFL linebacker with special teams potential.”
With the Vikings, King will likely start out as a depth linebacker and special teams contributor. Both Blake Cashman and Ivan Pace Jr. figure to be around for at least the next couple seasons. But if King develops in Flores’ defense — which could use his explosiveness as a blitzer, in addition to his run defense — he could potentially compete for a starting role later in his rookie contract. If he’s going to reach his ceiling and earn a major role at some point, he’ll have to be capable enough in coverage to complement his strengths.
“He’s somebody that plays with range, tackles,” GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said. “He’s a really physical, knock-back, impact tackler. And we’re excited to add him, not just to our fourth-down units but potentially to be a starter one day in this league. A great communicator, was able to move people around in the Penn State defense, a great defense in its own right.”
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Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.
