Kader Kohou is the first of what will be many incoming contributors at cornerback for the Kansas City Chiefs this offseason. After trading Trent McDuffie and allowing Jaylen Watson and Joshua Williams to depart in free agency to other teams (with Nazeeh Johnson also available), the Chiefs will be ushering in several new arrivals this offseason via the market and draft.
The former Dolphins cornerback was lost for the 2025 season due to a knee injury suffered in the preseason. Instead of leveraging a contract year atop the impressive climb up Miami's depth chart in his first three seasons, Kohou is now hoping to rebuild his market value with the Chiefs on a one-year deal signed in free agency.
To find out more about what he brings after a year away, we reached out to Dolphins' expert Brian Miller of Phin Phanatic to tell us more about Kohou's history and future.
Before the injury, I'd love to start with what the Dolphins envisioned for him in the 2025 season?
For Kohou, it wasn’t about a plan for him. He was coming off a decent season and was one of the team’s hardest workers. The Dolphins' secondary was already a mess, and they were transitioning on the boundary. Miami released Kendall Fuller and was in the process of trading Jalen Ramsey. The options on the outside were Storm Duck and Cam Smith. Both unproven. Inside, Kohou had the experience and leadership the Dolphins needed. The plan, if there was one, had to be for him to handle the nickel package. With Jevon Holland also gone, it was likely that Kohou would have taken on a bigger role in run support. (edited)Â
Kohou took a decent amount of snaps outside. Can he handle himself there?
He can handle himself on the boundary, but he is a better option in the slot. The good thing about Kohou is that his work ethic is phenomenal. He doesn’t take plays off and learns from his mistakes. He is a quality utility knife in the secondary, but if he has to start for multiple games, he is going to make mistakes. In Miami, he wasn’t given enough consistent reps at one position or another, and that hindered his development, especially outside.
Anything else worth knowing about Kohou's time in Miami?
On the field, there isn’t much. He is a what you see is what you get kind of player. He works well within different schemes, is consistent enough inside and outside not to give up big plays, but what I do like the most is that he doesn’t shy away from the moment. The game doesn’t get too big for him when it’s crunch time. If the clock is ticking down, Kohou tends to stay in his lane instead of overthinking the situation or feeling the need to make a big play to win the game. Instead, he just does his job. From a personal standpoint, he was one of maybe three guys I had really hoped would get a shot to work with Jeff Hafley.