Turner Taken in Third Round by the Rams
4/28/2023 11:05:00 PM | Football
Turner will look to continue a long legacy of success in players selected in day two rounds of the NFL Draft.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The #ProDeacs family added its newest member when the Los Angeles Rams chose defensive lineman Kobie Turner with the 89th overall pick in the third round.
Turner is just the sixth Wake Forest player to ever be chosen by the Rams and the first since wide receiver Chris Givens was chosen in 2012 in the fourth round.
This is the eighth defensive player selected in the Dave Clawson era and the third defensive lineman in the Clawson era.
Wake Forest has now had at least one pick in every NFL Draft since 2017, the second longest streak in the common NFL Draft era (since 1967). That streak matches the program's record of now seven-straight bowl berths. Additionally during this streak, the Demon Deacons have had 36 players sign NFL contracts.
He becomes the fourth-highest Wake Forest player in the Clawson era and the highest since Carlos "Boogie" Basham Jr. was taken in the second round by the Buffalo Bills in 2021.
From Coach Clawson
"Everyone will tell you that they want guys who just want to win and to be a team player, but Kobie Turner lives it on and off the field. He wants to be great and will do anything to help the team win. In his one season with us, the impact he made on our program as a graduate transfer helped our team reach a program record seventh-straight bowl game, which is the second longest streak in the ACC. Kobie will be successful at anything he does in life and the Los Angeles Rams just got a player who will impact their franchise and community in a positive way."
From Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network
"The second non-combine player to be picked. He's fun to study. He's a little undersized. 280 pounds. He played in the East-West Shrine bowl. He has a loosened bend. We talked about edge rushers often in terms of their loose and can they bend the edge? This is a real loose athlete along the interior. I think that's going to come with getting stronger, but he's very quick. He's going to play on the other side of the line of scrimmage. And if you want to learn how to play that position, I guess maybe Aaron Donald could be a pretty good guy to learn from."
From Charles Davis of NFL Network
"Coming from Richmond, he jumped up a classification of football. Wake Forest is known for turning out quarterbacks, running backs and receivers. These Los Angeles Rams say 'nobody comes in our house and pushes us around.' And here we have Kobe Turner helping set the line of scrimmage for the Rams."
More on Turner
In just one year on campus, Kobie Turner made an immense impact on the interior of the Wake Forest defensive line. With a big season, he was named an honorable mention All-American by Pro Football Focus. He posted a 92.2 PFF rating, the second-highest rating by a Power-5 defensive player. In addition to All-American honors, Turner was named Second-Team All-ACC by the AP and Third Team All-ACC by the league media and coaches.
Capping off his season, Turner helped lead the Deacs to a Gasparilla Bowl victory over Missouri, totaling 2.0 tackles for loss and a sack. He finished the season with 38 total tackles including 21 solo tackles and 17 assisted tackles while also having 10.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks, tallying at least one tackle in 10 of 13 games. After the season, he was invited to the East-West Shrine Game.
Prior to transferring to Wake Forest, he was named a three-time All-Colonial Athletic Association selection, including two-straight First Team All-CAA honors (2021 spring, 2021 fall). Turner was named CAA Co-Defensive Player of the Year in the 2021 spring season. Over his three seasons there, he tallied 158 tackles, including 65 solo and 93 assisted while also registering 33.5 tackles for loss and 15.0 sacks. He also forced three fumbles and recovered three fumbles.
What's Out There?
Check out all the social media buzz around Turner being selected by the Rams.
EMBEDDED TWEETS/SOCIAL POSTS
Heading to La La Land 🐏
— Wake Forest Football (@WakeFB) April 29, 2023
Let's go, @TurnerKobie 🎩 pic.twitter.com/Rsd8KOa2WN
A demon (deacon) on the defensive line.
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) April 29, 2023
Welcome to LA, @TurnerKobie! pic.twitter.com/GLnsdJifq9
"Kobie wants to be great and will do anything to help the team win." - @CoachClawson 🗣️#ProDeacs 🎩 pic.twitter.com/joSDhuK74Q
— Wake Forest Football (@WakeFB) April 29, 2023
Rams got them one heck of an underrated prospect in Kobie Turner. His motor runs hot and his hands are heavy; really good run defender. Most importantly he's tough to move when he anchors down and has quicks to get into the backfield: pic.twitter.com/xUufCgSzzT
— Bobby Football (@Rob__Paul) April 29, 2023
Among DT's that are draft eligible this year, Kobie Turner ranked pretty damn well in 2022 (per @PFF, 100-plus snaps):
— Sosa Kremenjas (@QBsMVP) April 29, 2023
- 3rd-highest PFF grade (92.2)
- 93.1 run-defense grade (1st)
- 88.8 pass-rush grade (5th)
- 3 sacks (26th)
- 34 pressures (6th)
This is really impressive.
