Keondre Coburn could be big-impact, late-round lineman for Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs seem to have unearthed a well-rounded defensive line prospect in the sixth round with their selection of Keondre Coburn.

By definition, Keondre Coburn is a late-round flyer. Listening to the Kansas City Chiefs‘ perspective of him, it’s clear they see much more than that at work along the defensive line.

It’s no secret at this point that the Kansas City Chiefs were seeking to make a major investment at defensive line in the 2023 NFL Draft since news leaked that they were interested in trading up for Michigan lineman Mazi Smith. Despite that failed trade, the Chiefs still landed Coburn in the sixth round as a prospect out of Texas who can help provide talent and depth next to Chris Jones.

Coburn had 29 tackles for loss for the Texans in ’22, including 4 for a loss. As a primary run-stopper, the stats aren’t going to leap off of the page since his play was integral to freeing others up, but Coburn did manage to rack up 6.5 sacks and 15 tackles for loss in his Big 12 career.

Following the draft, Jason Lamb, Southeast regional scout for the Chiefs, spoke with team reporters about what Coburn brings to the team.

“Keondre is a big dude up front,” said Lamb. “He’s strong and powerful and explosive. The thing about him though, being as big as he is, the dude can move. He’ll go out there and chase the quarterbacks and run around and make the quarterback scramble outside the pocket. He’s going to bring a big presence up front, a lot of explosiveness, a lot of power, a lot of strength in his game.”

Coburn joins the Chiefs as a very experienced prospect from Texas with appearances in 52 games. According to Lamb, the Longhorns coaching staff also asked him to play all over the front line, giving him more versatility coming into rookie minicamp for Steve Spagnuolo to potentially work with.

“He’s kind of played everything from a 1 tech to a 3 tech,” said Lamb. “We kind of see him more as a true nose. He’s got the athletic ability to move down the line either way, doing slants, doing stunts, all that kind of stuff. For being as big as he is, he’s got a quick first step. So I know Spags and all of our coaches will definitely use him in a bunch of different ways for sure.”

Together with the return of Turk Wharton from injury, the Chiefs should be able to compensate for the loss of Khalen Saunders, who was a late bloomer at the pro level. Derrick Nnadi was also re-signed to give the Chiefs a familiar face in their base defense, but his sliding snap counts over the years give Coburn (or someone) a clear path to playing time if they can rise to claim it.