Chiefs UDFA Spotlight: South Dakota LB Jack Cochrane

Cochrane played at Mount Vernon High School in Iowa, beginning his football career on the offensive side of the ball playing quarterback, tight end and running back. He signed on with South Dakota as a recruit in 2017 because he related to the small-town midwestern vibe, something that likely made Kansas City appealing as an undrafted free agent.

In his first year with the Coyotes, Cochrane was supposed to have a redshirt year. Injuries forced South Dakota to pull Cochrane’s redshirt in October and he would go on to appear in seven games to close out the year, mostly appearing on special teams, but with some snaps at linebacker. His first real action would come during the 2018 season, where he recorded over 100 tackles and earned First-Team MVFC All-Academic honors. For the next three seasons, Cochrane’s teammates would vote him as a team captain and he’d thrive as a defensive leader for the team.

Stats

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

2017: Partial redshirt year. 7 games played. 11 total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss

2018: 11 games played. 79 total tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, two passes defended, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.

2019: 12 games played. 106 total tackles, seven tackles for loss, three sacks, two interceptions, three passes defended, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

2020: 4 games played. 28 total tackles and one pass defended.

2021: 12 games played. 103 total tackles, 10 tackles for loss, two sacks, four interceptions and 10 passes defended.

Combine & pro day results

Briana Sanchez / Argus Leader

Height: 6-3

Weight: 236

40-yard dash: 4.65s

Vertical: 41 inches

Broad: 124 inches

Bench: 19

3-Cone: 7.27s

Short Shuttle: 4.10s

Highlights & film

Erin Woodiel/The Argus Leader via AP

Career highlights via Joseph Hoover

Starting NFL Journey In Kansas City via Midco Sports

Various clips via South Dakota FB on Twitter

Fit with the Chiefs

AP Photo/Charlie Riedel

The Chiefs jettisoned over 1,000 snaps at the linebacker position this offseason with Anthony Hitchens, Ben Niemann and Dorian O’Daniel all being shown the door. That doesn’t include the number of snaps played on special teams either. While players like Nick Bolton, Willie Gay Jr. and Leo Chenal figure to be the future starting trio in Kansas City, the team typically carries 5-6 linebackers on the 53-man roster.

Cochrane is going to be one of the players with an opportunity to compete and earn a spot on the team. He’ll have some stout competition with players like Elijah Lee, Jermaine Carter, Darius Harris and fellow UDFA Mike Rose all competing for spots too.

As a senior in South Dakota, Cochrane played the majority of his repetitions at the MIKE linebacker spot. He has played outside linebacker in the past and will likely be better suited for those positions in the NFL. I figure that the team will be working him in as a sub-package linebacker, especially on passing downs because of his natural ability in pass coverage. He has the athleticism to flip his hips and carry receivers and tight ends down the seam. He also has a nose for the ball in those scenarios as evidenced by his six career interceptions and 16 career passes defended.

Like most undrafted free agents, Cochrane’s best path to a 53-man roster spot will be his willingness and ability to play on special teams. He spoke about this on the YotesCast podcast after rookie minicamp.

“That’s a huge thing,” Cochrane said. “Anyone in the league will tell you, as a rookie, especially a linebacker, if you’re not valuable on special teams, your value greatly decreases. We got a little taste of that in rookie minicamp. I really, really enjoy the special teams staff and learning from them the past weekend. Definitely, that’ll be a big part of the next step for me.”

At the very least, Cochrane will bring some stout competition to the room as the team heads into training camp and the preseason.

2022 UDFA Spotlight Series

AP Photo/Charlie Riedel

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