Previewing the Patriots cornerback heading into his first season in the NFL.
The New England Patriots made their cornerback group a point of emphasis this offseason. Besides signing Carlton Davis in free agency and retaining Alex Austin, the team also brought in three rookies at the position — among them the final pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Kobee Minor.
Hard facts
Name: Kobee Minor
Position: Cornerback
Jersey number: 19
Opening day age: 23 (7/8/2002)
Measurements: 5’11 3/8”, 188 lbs, 76 1/2” wingspan, 31 5/8” arm length, 10” hand size, 4.58s 40-yard dash, 7.23s 3-cone drill, 4.54s short shuttle, 36” vertical jump, 10’0” broad jump, 9 bench press reps, 2.93 Relative Athletic Score
Experience
NFL: England Patriots (2025-) | College: Texas Tech (2020-22), Indiana (2023), Memphis (2024)
A three-star safety recruit out of Lake Dallas High School in Corinth, TX, Minor received plenty of interest coming out. Among the 15 total teams offering him a scholarship were the Texas Red Raiders, who brought him aboard in 2020 and moved him to cornerback. His position change did not help him see much action in Lubbock, though: appearing in 23 games with no starts over three years, he played just 161 defensive snaps.
As a result, Minor decided to enter the transfer portal in December of his 2022 redshirt sophomore campaign. He officially moved to the University of Indiana a month later, and saw a significant uptick in action in 2023. Starting nine out of his 11 games and playing 615 snaps, he was named honorable mention All-Big Ten.
Despite his success, he entered the portal again in hopes of putting himself in a better overall position with the NFL Draft on the horizon. He did: after the most active season of his college career at Memphis, Minor was selected 257th overall by the Patriots as the “Mr. Irrelevant” of the 2025 draft.
Scouting report
Strengths: Minor offers solid length at the cornerback position, and has shown good anticipation at the catch point and attack the ball in the air. He is a feisty player who is physical in man-to-man coverage and willing to do the dirty work as a run defender who is trying to make his presence felt as a tackler. In general, he is a positionally flexible player who can line up on the perimeter but also move into the slot or go deep as a safety. He also moves more fluidly on the field than his testing numbers would suggest.
Weaknesses: Even though he runs better than his underwhelming 40-yard dash, three-cone drill and short shuttle, he still lacks high-end athletic traits or standout size, which in turn might impact his effectiveness at the next level. In addition, he had a hard time turning pass breakups (12) into interceptions (0) over the course of his college career. He also was up and down in the tackling department, oftentimes seemingly opting for physicality rather than sound technique.
2024 review
Stats: 11 games (11 starts) | 617 defensive snaps, 60 special teams snaps | 38 tackles, 8 missed tackles (17.4%), 7 TFLs, 2 forced fumbles | 39 targets, 21 catches surrendered (53.8%), 301 yards, 2 TDs | 4 quarterback pressures (2 sacks, 2 hits) | 1 penalty
Season recap: Coming off a fairly successful season at Indiana, Minor made the somewhat surprising and relatively late decision to enter the transfer portal for a second straight year. In late April, he entered the portal and committed to the University of Memphis a month later — joining forces with his brother, Darryl, who also transferred from the Hoosiers.
Upon joining the Tigers, he quickly earned a starting role as an outside cornerback and went on to start all 11 of the games he was available for. With the exception of a two-game stretch in late October and early November, when he was out due to a hamstring injury, Minor was a fixture in the Memphis secondary — ranking second on the year in snaps among his new team’s cornerbacks.
Along the way, he played some of the best football of his college career. Minor was generally solid in coverage, giving up receptions on only 53.8 percent of his charted targets, and also forced the first two fumbles of his career in back-to-back games: one on a blitz against Middle Tennessee, the other on a tackle against South Florida.
And while Minor did give up a pair of touchdowns in his final college game against West Virginia, he still put plenty of positive moments on tape. The proof is in the pudding: despite moderate hype leading up to the even, he was selected as the final pick in the draft.
2025 preview
Position: Backup cornerback | Ability: Camp body/Practice squad candidate | Contract: Signed through 2028
What will be his role? Given the talent higher up on the depth chart, Minor projects as a backup and potential special teams contributor in New England as a rookie. While there might be a path to a more prominent role either on the outside or in the slot, until he can challenge one of Alex Austin, Marcellas Dial Jr. or Isaiah Bolden, regular snaps on defense will be hard to find for the seventh-round pick.
What is his growth potential? A veteran of five college seasons, Minor is further along in his development than other rookie players. This in combination with his fairly average athleticism points toward a relatively unremarkable ceiling; there is a reason why he was widely projected to go undrafted. Of course, that does not automatically disqualify him from becoming a usable player in some shape or form — the road to get there might just be a bit more fuzzy.
Does he have positional versatility? Even though he was a safety coming out of high school, Minor ended up spending most of his college career at outside cornerback: 86.5 percent of his defensive snaps saw him align wide. That said, the Patriots do see some inside-our versatility in his skillset and might also try to use advantage of his four-unit kicking game experience (punt return, punt coverage, kickoff coverage, field goal/extra point block).
What is his salary cap situation? As the last pick in this year’s draft, Minor’s contract is true to his name: not necessarily one that is leaving a big dent in the Patriots’ cap. In fact, due to the NFL’s Top 51 Rule, only his fully-guaranteed $25,418 signing bonus proration is currently counting against the team’s books. His $840,000 base salary will only be added if he makes the 53-man roster.
How safe is his roster spot? Even though the Patriots spent a draft pick on him, Minor making the team this fall is far from a safe bet. In fact, he projects to be firmly on the roster bubble and will need to outperform several more experienced players higher up on the depth chart — the aforementioned Alex Austin, Marcellas Dial Jr. and Isaiah Bolden among them — in order to get a realistic shot.
Summary: Minor will always have the honor of being the final pick in the 2025 draft, but he is facing an uphill battle in order to get a chance to add to his legacy. He does offer some workable tools to develop, but at this point in time seems like more of a practice squad candidate than a player headed for the 53-man roster or indeed any notable role.
What do you think about Kobee Minor heading into the 2025 season? Please head down to the comment section to share your thoughts.