Back in 2022, the Dolphins were in an all-too-familiar transitional phase. Franchise owner Stephen Ross had fired Brian Flores following a tumultuous season, replacing him with Flores' polar opposite in Mike McDaniel. McDaniel's inaugural draft class was extremely light, due in large part to the blockbuster trade to acquire Kansas City Chiefs superstar Tyreek Hill.
The class featured only four draft choices: third-round linebacker Channing Tindall, fourth-round wide receiver Erik Ezukanma, seventh-round EDGE rusher Cameron Goode, and seventh-round quarterback Skylar Thompson. Only Goode remains on the roster, albeit in a modest special teams role. It was an undrafted free agent from tiny FCS Texas A&M-Commerce (since rebranded to East Texas A&M) who made the biggest impact of any rookie, however. That would be none other than cornerback Kader Kohou.
"Darth Kader" wrangled a starting role in the secondary and outperformed even the wildest of expectations. For the following three seasons, he was a defensive fixture, playing between 76–88% of the team's defensive snaps. Unfortunately, in the ramp-up to the 2025 season, he suffered a torn ACL in late July that cost him the entirety of his fourth season. As an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career, Kohou wound up signing with the Kansas City Chiefs on a one-year contract.
By virtue of the Dolphins facing the entire AFC West (Broncos, Chargers, Chiefs, Raiders) in 2026, it was only a matter of when Kohou would make his triumphant return. As it turns out, it'll be in the Dolphins' home opener on September 27.
Miami Dolphins QB Malik Willis might want to look elsewhere rather than targeting a motivated Kader Kohou in Week 3
The Dolphins' offense is in a delicate state. Malik Willis' arsenal of receivers features a top six consisting of three veterans (Malik Washington, Tutu Atwell, Jalen Tolbert) who each had fewer than 350 yards last season, and three rookies (Caleb Douglas, Chris Bell, Kevin Coleman Jr.). In the season's third game, it's safe to assume the offense will still be gelling, which could be a recipe for disaster.
In addition to Kohou, the Chiefs nabbed the draft's top cornerback, Mansoor Delane. Delane had drawn a considerable amount of Miami interest in the pre-draft process, adding another layer of intrigue to a matchup that might seem lopsided on paper.
It remains to be seen whether superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes will be recovered from his own ACL tear in time for the contest, though the Chiefs' defense features enough talent for the Dolphins to be concerned anyway. Kansas City still rosters franchise cornerstones Chris Jones and Nick Bolton, giving the Chiefs havoc-wreakers at every level. It will be tough sledding for the offense.
In any case, while Kohou won't recognize very many of his former Dolphins teammates as a result of the considerable house-cleaning that's taken place this offseason, it's safe to assume he will be hypercharged to show out against his old team. Malik Willis: Beware.
Add us as a preferred source on Google