The Jets recently claimed rookie linebacker Kobe King off waivers from the Minnesota Vikings. Today we break King down in detail.
The 22-year old King is listed at 6’1” and 250 pounds and was a sixth round pick out of Penn State in April. King, who was an all-Big Ten second-teamer in 2024, recorded four tackles in five NFL games with the Vikings but only played three defensive snaps.
Background
King was a three-star high school recruit who headed to Penn State in 2021 and redshirted his first year, although he did play in four games, recording three tackles.
In 2022, he was in a reserve role and recorded 41 tackles, four tackles for loss and three passes defensed. He also returned a fumble recovery for a touchdown.
Over the next two seasons, he became a full-time starter. He was an all-Big Ten honorable mention in 2023 as he started 11 of 13 games and had 59 tackles, six tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Then, in 2024, he followed that up by starting 16 games and earning all-Big Ten second team recognition. He was 10th in the Big Ten with 97 tackles and added 8.5 tackles for loss and three sacks.
Having declared for the 2025 draft, King attended the scouting combine but did not work out. He was a projected late round pick and the Vikings eventually selected him in the sixth round.
In the early part of his rookie season, he had basically just been used on special teams, but it was still surprising to see the Vikings cut ties with him last week. The Jets claimed him but he was inactive on Sunday against the Bengals.
Let’s move onto some more in-depth analysis of what King brings to the table as a player, based on extensive research and film study.
Measurables/Athleticism
King lacks ideal length but has a strong frame, although he apparently weighed in almost 15 pounds lighter than his listed weight at the combine.
His pro day workout numbers were solid as he ran under 4.7 seconds in the 40-yard dash. His explosiveness and agility numbers were also decent and he posted an impressive 26 bench press reps.
King is an off-ball linebacker, who usually played as an inside or middle linebacker. He’s matched up in the slot or crept up to the line at times, but not that often. He wore the headset on defense at Penn State and also did this for Minnesota in preseason.
Run defense
King established himself as a productive run defender during his college career. During his final season, he was second among Big Ten linebackers in run stops and posted excellent run defense grades on analysis site Pro Football Focus.
He is good at going sideline-to-sideline, with range and hustle in pursuit, and his technique is sound with little wasted motion and a tendency to keep himself square to the line of the scrimmage.
King is at his best when he is kept clean, but has patience and a knack for navigating traffic and avoiding blockers.
He plays with discipline and shows a willingness to take on blockers and the ability to shed them in space.
Coverage skills
King’s main role in coverage is dropping off and reacting to make tackles to limit the yardage on short passes. As a result, his coverage numbers reflect a high percentage of completed targets but not many big plays or touchdowns.
Here’s a play from preseason where the back gets a step on him on the wheel route but he does his best to recover and disrupt the catch.
King had just four passes defensed during his college career, three of which were from 2022 when he was a backup. He also didn’t intercept any passes.
King’s production as a tackler improved year-on-year and his missed tackle percentage reduced each year, even though he had 14 in his final season.
He has good range and closing speed, can hit hard and makes a lot of tackles where he extends beyond his frame.
He only had one forced fumble in his college career.
King didn’t blitz that much in college, but when he did he had a decent pressure rate and 4.5 career sacks. He showed the ability to beat an offensive lineman and get the quarterback on the ground. He also had a few pressures in preseason.
In passing situations, he was also sometimes tasked with spying the quarterback, so some of his pressure numbers came from these situations. He was effective in this role.
Special teams
As noted, King was in a special teams role with the Vikings and, while he didn’t play much special teams when he was a starter, he did earn some valuable experience on all units during 2022.
Including preseason games, King was productive with six special teams tackles in seven games.
He has also contributed as a blocker, although he had two holding penalties in the first half of his last game with the Vikings.
Physicality
King brings good physicality to the role, as already alluded to. He is not afraid to take on blockers and can make some big hits.
Instincts/Intelligence
As noted, King wore the headset at Penn State, where James Franklin noted how important he was to the linebacker unit and the communication of the defense as a whole.
His film is impressive in terms of him reading his keys and filling the right lane without hesitation. He also does a good job of not being fooled by misdirection and his patience and gap discipline make it difficult to prevent him from affecting plays.
Here’s a play where he reads the short pass and avoids a blocker to blow it up in the flat.
In coverage, he is less comfortable. At times he may be too preoccupied with his own assignment that this prevents him from being able to come off that and tackle another ball carrier. He also had this blown coverage in college.
As noted, Franklin praised King’s importance to the defense and he was rewarded by being named a team captain ahead of the 2024 season as a result. Clearly, he has some good leadership skills and his work ethic has also been praised.
In terms of on-field discipline, he had just four defensive penalties during his two years as a starter with the Nittany Lions.
There was also a viral moment involving King during his college career where he vomited on the field, which was widely attributed to nerves.
His brother, Kalen King, is also an NFL player.
Injuries have not been an issue for King, who has been banged up in games a few times but never missed any significant time at Penn State.
Scheme Fit
King attended “Linebacker U” so he was at a program which has a reputation for being adept at producing NFL-ready talent. It shouldn’t be too much of an adjustment from Penn State’s system to the NFL.
However, in the short term, it’s on special teams where King will be needed and he has the necessary experience to handle that role.
Conclusions
Although the Jets are getting Quincy Williams back, linebacker depth was still needed due to Cam Jones joining Marcelino McCrary-Ball on injured reserve.
This is more than just a special teams addition, though. King was drafted this year and, despite not cracking the Vikings’ rotation, was considered to potentially have an NFL future.
The Jets can develop King alongside Kiko Mauigoa and they can compete with Mykal Walker for the right to be the first linebacker off the bench now that Williams is back. New York will hope to see progress so that both rookies are in the mix for a bigger role next season.