New York Giants Draft Prospect Profile: IDL Kobie Turner

Kobie Turner, IDL

Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 293 lbs.
Class: RS-Senior
School: Wake Forest

Combine Measurements

Wingspan: 76¾”
Hand size: 10¼”
3-Cone drill: 7.09
Short-shuttle: 4.49
Bench press: 31 reps

Attended Centreville High School in Clifton, Virginia. He was a two-year starter in high school and was First-Team All-District for both the defensive and offensive lines. He spent his first three collegiate seasons at Richmond. Nicknamed “The Conductor.”

Notables

A productive player at the FCS level while at Richmond as a Spider. Tallied 158 tackles, 33.5 for a loss, 15 sacks, 69 pressures, and three forced fumbles through four seasons at Richmond. He transferred to Wake Forest for his final year of eligibility after being named the CAA Co-Defensive Player of the Year in 2021.

According to his Pro Day numbers, Turner would have had the fastest 3-Cone and short-shuttle at the Combine for IDL and would have ranked third on the bench press behind Michigan’s Mazi Smith and LSU’s Jaquelin Roy.

Turner was named Second-Team All-ACC by the AP and Third-Team All-ACC after 38 tackles, ten tackles for a loss, 34 pressure, and two sacks season. According to Pro Football Focus, Turner was the highest-graded defensive lineman among draft-eligible players and the highest-graded draft-eligible IDL in run defense.

It’s important to note the defensive style of Wake Forest, who played an aggressive slanting, gap-exchange defense that leveraged quickness off the snap to penetrate and disrupt rushing lanes while also penetrating the pocket. It was a very attacking style, which seems best for a player like Turner.

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Strengths

Solid overall athlete with strong hands
Maintains excellent balance and a low center of gravity at the point of attack
Solid burst off the line of scrimmage - sufficient suddenness to give himself an advantage when penetrating
Fires low off the snap with solid quickness
Does a good job getting horizontal and splitting blockers on the LOS
Showed the ability to flip his hips into the pocket when winning the half-man relationship by a significant margin (Mizzou sack, TFL Clemson Q2, 9:43 1st & 10)
Showed sufficient bend for a player of his size when flipping his hips around blockers
Good processing to locate and spin-off blocks if necessary to find the ball carrier (Clemson Q2, 9:07, 2nd & 12)
Good overall run defender when not asked to penetrate
Timed his swim move well to split combo blocks to separate
Such a difficult blocking assignment for OL who block on an angle (Syracuse Q3, 3:47, 1st & 10)
His motor is still running - pursuit and hustle for days
Has multiple plays on tape where he defeated three blocks to make a tackle
Generates good pressure as a pass-rusher
Nasty hump and club move with the subsequent crossing of the face to reduce any area for blockers to attach
Good power in his hands - Good overall play strength in one-on-one situations
Film & technique seemed to improve down the stretch of the season (he did play smaller schools early in the year and put up stats)
Competitive player that teams will love
Seems to be a film junky

Weaknesses

Didn’t seem like a high-end athlete on tape - he’s sufficient
Has a bit of a tweener type of build - not very long
Marginal when tasked to anchor down against double teams - does have his flash plays splitting the block
Seemed to be on the ground or on his knees more than desired vs the run
Hand technique as a pass rusher could improve
Active hands as a pass rusher, but they’re not necessarily precise
Could have a better pass-rush plan if his initial move is stopped
Won’t threaten the edge with speed or bend
Had splash plays against Clemson, but he did struggle against their strength when he was asked to anchor down

Summary

Kobie Turner is an intelligent penetrating IDL who plays with excellent leverage and solid quickness at the snap. He possesses active hands that allow him to punish offensive linemen when their angles are too aggressive. He’s not refined as a pass-rusher yet but has flashed impressive plays employing hump moves to separate.

Turner was the highest-graded IDL that was draft eligible, according to PFF. His ability to penetrate and disrupt rushing lanes and his awareness of offensive intentions positioned him to make very impactful plays for Wake Forest. However, his anchor ability against well-executed double teams was marginal. Turner’s role in Wake Forest’s quick gap-exchanging defense may be his best fit at the next level. He’s a sufficient athlete who will never stop working at his craft.

GRADE: 5.98

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