Penn State football mike linebacker Kobe King was widely regarded as one of the best linebackers in the Big Ten last season. His efforts on and off the field saw him selected to the All-Big Ten second team by coaches and media.

At Penn State’s 2025 Pro Day, King voiced how he is more than just one of the premier linebackers in the conference.

“My level of play, I feel, was probably one of the best in the country,” King said. “Just from the standpoint of playing linebacker, maneuvering as a linebacker, and conducting myself as a linebacker, specifically a mike backer, I thought I was probably the best in the country and like no other I’ve seen.”

The redshirt junior, still with a year of eligibility left, listed his self-belief as one of the reasons for choosing to declare for the NFL Draft early.

“I definitely feel like I was ready to be amongst the next level and show that I can be one of the best,” King said.

Despite personal confidence, most outlets have King well outside the top five linebackers in the draft; some, like CBS, have him outside of the top 10.

A lot of analysts assume King will go in on day three, similar to his brother Kalen King, who went 255th overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft to the Green Bay Packers.

King’s run-stopping ability is not the reason for the potential of a low draft selection. In the 2024 season, he recorded 97 total tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, and a forced fumble.

King said that while he’s struggled on defending the passing game, he felt during his Pro Day, he showed scouts how hard he’s been working on that part of his repertoire.

King, listed at 6’1″ and 236 pounds, ran a 4.63 second 40-yard dash, a 4.26 shuttle drill, and a 7.21 3 cone drill. He also jumped 9’1″ in the broad jump.

His 40-yard dash time would have placed him in 11th place amongst linebackers at the NFL Combine, tied with Oregon’s Jeffery Bassa, another top linebacker in the 2025 draft class. He also would have placed well in the shuttle drill, third, and the cone drill, fifth.

With the combine now over, the next step, King says, is to get his body right to get ready for his visits and workouts he has coming up.

While he did his best to hide which teams he would be visiting, he specifically mentioned that he would be making trips to the Eagles, one of the New York franchises, and the Ravens.