Kobie Turner, IDL Wake Forest: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Turner was a defensive line recruit from Centreville High School in Clifton, Va. in the class of 2017

Defensive lineman Kobie Turner transferred from Richmond to Wake Forest for the 2022 season. The move paid off as Turner earned All-ACC honors and raised his stock in the 2023 NFL Draft. Check out his full draft report below.

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Kobie Turner, IDL Wake Forest: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Redshirt senior defensive tackle from Clifton, Va.

Background: Turner was a defensive line recruit from Centreville High School in Clifton, Va. in the class of 2017. He didn’t receive a star ranking from ESPN, 247Sports, Rivals, or On3.com. Turner was a two-year starter in high school. He earned First-Team All-District honors as a defensive and offensive lineman. Turner was on USA Today's Second-Team All-Virginia offensive line and was a Second-Team All-State 6A OL/DL selection. He was part of the undefeated 2013 team that won the state title and the 2014 13-2 team that finished as the state runner-up. Turner transferred from Richmond to Wake Forest ahead of the 2022 season. He has one sister and two brothers, including A.J. Turner, who played running back at South Carolina from 2015-19. 

2022 Production: 13 games, 38 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 34 pressures, 2 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 2 passes defensed

2021 Production: 11 games, 54 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 29 pressures, 4 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries

2020 Production: 4 games, 19 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 18 pressures, 3.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble

2019 Production: 12 games, 71 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, 7 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 1 blocked kick

2018 Production: 11 games, 14 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks

2017 Production: (Redshirt Year)

Injuries & Off-Field: Volunteer mentor at Camp Hope for children

Awards: 2019 Third-Team All-Colonial Athletic Association, 2020 First-Team All-Colonial Athletic Association, 2020 FCS Second-Team All-American (Stats Perform), 2020 CAA Co-Defensive Player of the Year, 2021 First-Team All-Colonial Athletic Association, 2022 Third-Team All-ACC

Pros: Special teams experience on the punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units, motor runs hot, excellent core strength, makes pursuit plays downfield, keeps eyes on the quarterback to watch for PBU opportunities, good balance and lower-body control, gets skinny to shoot gaps, eyes see into the backfield to track the running back, flows down the line to the football, fires off the line quickly and with good leverage, history of targeting the ball and forcing fumbles, uncoils his body with great extension out of his stance, flashes an explosive first step, good agility for an interior player, hands and arms remain active, keeps feet churning, softens lineman’s shoulders to slip around their blocks and into the backfield, spins back into the play when carried upfield, rip move

Cons: Age, missed tackles, bit of a tweener on the defensive interior, vulnerable to double teams, caved in by double teams, ends up on his knees more than ideal, allows offensive linemen into his chest, arm length appears average to slightly below-average, sealed to create run lanes, hands are wild and undisciplined, lower body lacks power to displace linemen, time spent stuck on blocks as a pass rusher, doesn’t display bend when operating on the edge, lacks elite pursuit speed, lacks a developed pass rush plan and deep bag of counters, struggles to revive rush after initial move dies, doesn’t consistently separate from run blocks, hand placement can get high and could draw penalties, hands lack pop

Overview: Turner is unofficially listed at 6'3", 290 lbs. He applied pressure on roughly 8.15% of his pass rush attempts in 2021 and 10.49% in 2022. Turner lined up everywhere from 4-tech to 1-tech for Wake Forest. His experience on the punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units means he’ll contribute as a rookie, even if he can’t crack the defensive lineup. Turner’s motor runs hot. He makes plays downfield in pursuit and has a history of punching the ball out. As an athlete, Turner displays good agility for an interior player. His core strength, balance, and lower-body control are impressive. The redshirt senior fires off the line quickly and with good leverage. He compresses and uncoils his body at the snap with ideal extension out of his stance. This sometimes leads to Turner flashing an explosive first step. He’s able to get skinny and shoot gaps as a penetration player. Turner’s hands and arms remain active, and he keeps his feet churning. Turner keeps his eyes in the backfield to track the running back and flows down the line to the football. He’s learned to soften shoulders to slip around blocks into the backfield. Turner spins back into the play when his rush carries him too far upfield. He displays a rip move but otherwise lacks a developed set of pass rush moves. Turner often tries to out-hustle his opponents on extended plays or win immediately off the snap. He struggles to beat linemen once his initial burst wears off. Turner lacks the bend to contribute as an outside edge rusher, but his tweener build and arm length make him vulnerable along the interior. The Richmond transfer doesn’t hold up against double teams and can be caved in or sealed to open rush lanes. Turner ends up on his knees more than ideal, although he recovers quickly on these plays and sometimes even rallies to make the tackle. The older prospect allows offensive linemen into his chest and lacks the arm length to provide an immediate counter in this situation. Turner’s hands are wild and undisciplined. Despite his leg drive, the All-ACC selection’s lower body lacks the power to displace linemen. Turner doesn’t consistently separate from blocks in the run or pass game. He needs to develop more counters and a better set of initial moves to prevent these low-impact reps.

Overall, Turner thrived in 2022 despite jumping from the Colonial Athletic Association to the ACC, but the college veteran needs to polish his hand usage and pass rush moves before becoming an impact NFL player. Turner’s status as a tweener might hurt his draft stock unless a team has a specific role or plan for his rookie season.

Role & Scheme Fit: Defensive end in a 3-4 scheme or defensive tackle in a 4-3

Round Projection: Late Fourth to Late Fifth

Player Comparison: N/A

Submitted: 01-12-23