In Mike Vrabel’s first NFL Draft as head coach of the New England Patriots, the team selected 11 total players. The final of those choices was used on a well-traveled cornerback, who spent his college career at three different schools and was ultimately selected as the 257th and last overall player.
From there, Kobee Minor had a somewhat quiet rookie campaign. Now, however, the sights are set on the future — and on shedding the “Mr. Irrelevant” label he received after closing out the 2025 draft.
Hard facts
Name:
Kobee Minor
Position: Cornerback
Jersey number: 19 (b)
Opening day age: 24 (7/8/2002)
Measurements: 5’11 3/8”, 188 lbs, 31 5/8” arm length, 76 1/2” wingspan, 10” hand size, 4.56s 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)
Coming out of Lake Dallas High School in Corinth, TX, Minor received plenty of interest as a three-star safety recruit. Among the 15 total teams offering him a scholarship were the Texas Tech 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 joined 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 an honorable All-Big Ten mention.
Despite his success, he entered the portal again in 2024 trying to put himself in a better overall position with the NFL Draft on the horizon. He accomplished that goal: after the most active season of his college career at Memphis — one that saw him start 11 games and add 617 snaps to his résumé — Minor was selected 257th overall by the Patriots as the final pick of the 2025 draft.
He spent most of his rookie season on the New England practice squad before seeing action in five games down the stretch.
Scouting report
Strengths: Minor offers solid length at the cornerback position, and has shown good anticipation at the catch point to attack the ball in the air. A feisty player, he is physical in man-to-man coverage and willing to do the dirty work as a run defender; he is trying to make his presence felt as a tackler and quick to provide run support. 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 during the pre-draft process, Minor still lacks any high-end athletic traits or standout size, which in turn can impact his effectiveness in coverage. He also seemingly opts for physicality rather than sound tackling technique, increasing the chance of missed tackles. In addition, he had a hard time finishing plays on the ball: he has not had an interception in his last six seasons between college and NFL.
2025 review
Stats: 5 games (0 starts) | 39 defensive snaps (3.0%), 28 special teams snaps (5.1%) | 1 tackle, 1 missed tackle (50%) | 0 penalties
Season recap: The “Mr. Irrelevant” of the 2025 NFL Draft, Minor joined a Patriots cornerback room that stood nine players deep and was headed by an established starting trio consisting of Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis and Marcus Jones. With those three not going anywhere, Minor was tasked with competing for a backup and special teams role against some veteran competition.
He did get his opportunities to prove himself worthy of a roster spot, both in training camp and preseason. However, despite playing 107 defensive snaps and 23 on special teams during the Patriots’ three-game preseason slate, Minor ultimately found himself on the chopping block at the end of August.
Getting waived did not mark the end of his Patriots journey, however. After clearing waivers, Minor was quickly re-signed to the practice squad.
Despite finding himself on what is effectively an extended roster to start his NFL career, the seventh-round draft choice did make his regular season debut only a few weeks after getting cut: Minor was a game-day elevation in both Week 2 and Week 3, playing a combined five kicking game snaps against the Dolphins and Steelers, respectively. His season did not continue like that, however, and it would take three months before he saw the field again.
Minor’s third and last available practice squad elevation came in late December versus the Jets, a game that saw him play defense for the first time as well. After the game, he was officially promoted to the 53-man roster, also seeing action the next two weeks in the season finale versus the Dolphins and the wild card playoff round win over the Chargers.
In total, Minor therefore ended his season with five in-game appearances, 39 snaps on defense and 28 more on special teams. His lone tackle came on a run play in Week 17 versus New York. He was later made a healthy scratch for the Patriots’ final three postseason games.
2026 preview
Position: Perimeter cornerback | Ability: Depth player/Role player | Contract: Signed through 2026 (2027 ERFA)
What will be his role? As was the case in 2025, Minor’s role once again projects to be two-fold. He will provide depth at cornerback, especially on the perimeter, and serve as player capable of being used on special teams. Given that the top of the Patriots’ cornerback depth chart remains unchanged and there is some stiff competition for the backup spots, the kicking game might be his best hope of making it to the 53-man roster when all is said and done.
What is his growth potential? Even though he appeared in five games, Minor’s rookie season was effectively a redshirt campaign to allow him to get up to NFL speed. Whether or not he has successfully done so remains to be seen, but there were few indicators one way or another in 2025. As a result, his outlook remains very much unchanged from a year ago: his combination of relatively modest athleticism and moderate success in both college and now the NFL points toward an unremarkable ceiling. That does not automatically disqualify him from developing into a serviceable player, but the road to get there seems a bit unclear.
Does he have positional versatility? In what was a continuation of his college usage, Minor saw most of his limited defensive snaps in 2025 as an outside cornerback. His role was only slightly more multi-faceted on special teams: most of his rookie snaps came as a vice player on the punt return team, with the occasional kickoff return, punt coverage and field goal/extra point blocking snap sprinkled in. There is potential for an expanded role, though.
What is his salary cap situation? Starting his career on the practice squad and later getting promoted to the active roster, Minor is now in the final year of his current contract. The 2026 portion of that deal consists entirely of a non-guaranteed $1.01 million base salary that is not high enough to qualify him for Top 51 status. That said, he does count against the Patriots’ books through a $76,254 dead money charge stemming from the original rookie pact he signed after getting drafted.
How safe is his roster spot? Minor’s roster spot was far from secure last year, and little has changed to improve his outlook this time around. In fact, he might find himself in an even more challenging position. With Karon Prunty added in the fifth round of the draft and veteran Kindle Vildor coming aboard in free agency — and with Minor himself failing to carve out a regular role in 2025 — the odds of making the team seems stacked against him. Unless he can find a niche role on special teams, the practice squad might once again be his best bet of remaining on New England’s payroll.
Summary: In his first year in the NFL, Minor basically lived up to the “Mr. Irrelevant” title he was awarded as the final pick in the draft. And while he will try to move beyond it now, doing so requires a significant jump in performance he has yet to show himself capable of.
What do you think about Kobee Minor heading into the 2026 season? Will he show some signs of improvement? Will his role increase? Please head down to the comment section to share your thoughts.
