Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa

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The draft experts love Notre Dame linebacker, Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa. He's widely considered to be the next Fred Warner. Another draft profile compared KVA to Zack Baun, who was one of my favorite prospects in the 2020 draft. In other words, almost everyone sees him as the next great NFL linebacker, a future All Pro. DraftBuzz has him ranked as the 6th best overall prospect. Almost all of the early mock drafts have him as a 1st round selection.

So, why am I doing a thread about him as a potential Rams draft target? The Rams don't have a 1st round pick. First, KVA has suffered 2 ACL injuries to the same knee, including one that ended his 2025 season. His medical history could scare off NFL teams. Second, both Warner and Baun were 3rd round picks. So, if we took those pro comps literally, why would we draft KVA earlier than the 3rd round even setting aside his injury history? Even more, Baun was considered to be a draft bust early in his career. The Saints weren't sure how best to use him, trying him as an EDGE pass rusher. It was only after signing a dirt cheap contract with the Eagles and moving to ILB that he was able to establish himself as a starter. In the 2021 draft, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah was highly ranked by the draft media. Concerns about a heart condition and his small size pushed him all the way down to slot 52 as a 2nd round pick. JOK made the Pro Bowl and was signed to a lucrative contract extension but suffered what is believed to be a career ending neck injury in his 4th NFL season.

Taking in all those factors into consideration, I think there is a pretty decent chance that KVA won't get drafted as high as the experts are predicting and could slide at least into the range where the Rams presumably will be picking late in the 2nd round. He might slide all the way into Day 3.

Is KVA one of the best players expected to be in the 2027 draft pool, regardless of position? If so, could he still land in the lap of the Rams without Les Snead even having to trade up to get him?

 

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Part 1: Background

Name, age: Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, turns 21 years old in March of 2027, true junior, Notre Dame

Size, estimated speed: Listed 6'3'' tall, 230 pounds, Draftscout 4.63 seconds in 40; Draftcountdown 4.70 seconds; DraftBuzz 4.65 seconds.

5-star and 4-star recruit. From Inland Empire area in Southern California. Has 3 siblings. Played HS ball at legendary St John Bosco, one of the top programs in the country. Tore ACL in left knee in the final game of his FR season, the spring of 2021. Missed his entire SO season. Projected as future Day 2 draft prospect.

Played ST and was backup in 2024. Primarily a backup in 2025. Notre Dame's starting MIKE is Drayk Bowen, a team captain. KVA was expected to win the WILL spot but Jaylen Sneed, a former 5-star recruit, won that role and had 35 tackles in 2025.

2024 (14 games, 1 start): 37 tackles, 9 solo, 2.5 TFLs, 1 sack, 1 PBU, 1 INT, 11 pressures, 343 defensive snaps
2025 (11 games, 2 starts): 48 tackles, 25 solo, 7.5 TFLs, 3 sacks, 2 PBU, 1 INT, 23 pressures, 435 snaps

Career stats: 85 tackles, 34 solo, 10 TFLs, 4 sacks, 2 FR, 3 PBU, 2 INT, 778 snaps.

Right knee sprain in 2024, missing 2 games. ACL tear in left knee vs Syracuse late in 2025 season.

PFF big board 22. His 94.0 run defense grade was best in nation; 23 pressures, allowed only 55.0 passer rating in coverage. Small sample size but when on the field, was the very best LB in the nation.
PFSN sim 94
Ian Cummings mock draft 78 overall, 3rd round
NFLMDD sim 45
Drafttek 46
DraftBuzz projected top 10 pick, 6th overall prospect. (+) Great run defense, versatile, sideline-to-sideline range, holds up in coverage, fast downhill trigger, blitz timing; (-) Knee injury, light at 230 pounds, missed 7 tackles. A 3-down LB whose only real question is recovery from injury, not the tape.
Brian Bosarge (Draftcountdown): 1st round grade LB. (+) Elite run defense, pristine block recognition, gap discipline, rare pass rushing skills, pass coverage, high football character and leadership, an extension of the coaching staff. (-) Medicals, could improve block shedding.
Travis May mock, 3rd round, 86 overall

 

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Part 2: Strengths

Not short. When I say that KVA is undersized, I'm talking about his build and lack of body mass and musculature. I'm not talking about his height. There are plenty of LBs in the NFL shorter than him. KVA has average height and length. He's not a midget. He's just light in the pants.

Stellar PFF analytical metrics. Graded out as one of the best LBs in the country in 2025.

Got substantial playing time. While he technically was a "backup", it was more like a platoon time-share situation. He might get rotated out for a series or situationally, but he played so much he was like a "half starter", not a true reserve.

NFL level athleticism. Fluid mover, agile, fast, energetic, twitchy, electric, light on feet. Very good recovery short area explosiveness. Plays with low pad level. Very flexible. Fluidly dips under blocks. Agile to weave around trash in his way. Knifes through narrow openings in the line. Dangerous explosiveness when deployed from Wide 9 alignment as pass rusher. When he identifies the threat and triggers, outstanding closing speed to make plays in space. Quick spin to redirect himself to ball off block once he diagnoses misdirection after play action fake. Reloads his hands quickly when taking on blocks in space.

Fluid flipping his hips to run with TEs and RBs in pass coverage.

Uses the full length of his arms well. Can stack and shed run blocks when aligned as EDGE. Good 1 and 2 arm pass rush extensions. Able to effectively set the edge against college opponents despite his small size.

Pass rush toolbox is full, good diverse collection of moves for an off-ball LB who isn't a full-time EDGE rusher. Sudden and effective swim move. Spin to inside, push pull, club swim combination, chop swim, can convert speed-to-power. Threat vs slower RTs to just run around them to the outside with pure speed.

Alignment versatility. Sometimes stack LB in middle, played both LB spots, often EDGE rusher more like a DE, sometimes hang defender in space over a slot.

Disruptive. When at full speed on run blitz he destroyed some blocks. Blasted his way through RB in pass protection. Quick closing speed on green dog. Human missile speed to attack inside seams as an EDGE rusher. Can penetrate into backfield if intentionally left unblocked on the back of run plays. Creased the DE inside on short yardage run. Made critical 4th down PBU in 4th quarter to help seal ND victory.

Tackling isn't a big weakness. In general, technique is fine, head up, wraps up. Breaks down and arrives under control when tackling in space or meeting RBs. I do have a few quibbles about his tackling and we'll get to those when discussing his weaknesses, but overall he doesn't have a problem missing tackles. Maybe the draft profiles felt that they had to come up with something just to fill in the "cons" box, but his rate of missed tackles would have been about average for the NFL and what I see in his games is he missed some tackles where he was athletic and fast enough to get into a position to attempt low percentage tackles, not because he messed up and blew high percentage tackle opportunities. He also made some nice solo stops that weren't easy tackles. He's not "bad" at tackling.

Very good special teams potential. Has ST experience at ND. Probably could play on all the ST units and be a core ST player.

Doesn't backdown from bigger OTs, combative and steps up to physical challenge. Threw a big OT to the ground.

Fiery, passionate and competitive on the field but has a very mellow and quiet personality off the field. Plays the piano. Said he studies and tries to emulate Fred Warner. In interviews, shows self-awareness of what he needs to do to improve his game.

 

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I forgot to list one of the draft boards. KVA is in the 2nd round tier on Sam Teets's board, 32nd overall, the next player just behind Charlie Becker. I'm considering whether to study Becker next.

Part 3: Weaknesses

Resume not right. The starting MLB for ND is currently projected as a Day 3 to UDFA prospect. He's ranked 319 overall in the PFSN simulator. The starting WILL for ND is ranked even lower, a consensus UDFA, 390 in the PFSN sim. Sometimes ND would put all 3 LBs on the field, other times KVA would be on the bench. If KVA is a potential 1st round pick, why is he a backup behind those other 2 LBs? Something doesn't make sense. Watching those other 2 guys at the same time I studied KVA, they didn't look like big sleepers. He's a backup behind potential UDFAs. That's a huge red flag.

In his entire career, he's played 778 defensive snaps. Last season, Nate Landman for the Rams played 1,017 defensive snaps. Effectively, KVA has played about 75% of an NFL season. Small sample size.

He's not Micah Parsons. I don't think his pass rushing translates great to the NFL. KVA doesn't have the right body type. He has good speed but not elite explosiveness. His power moves stall out against bigger or stronger opponents. OTs with length can smother his pass rush moves. I looked at the background of some of the OTs he faced. A couple of them were inexperienced redshirt freshman players and if you study their technique when they got beat, it was bad. Starting NFL tackles don't make those types of mistakes as often. One of his opponents is an international player who hasn't played much football.

Not a good candidate to make an EDGE. Doesn't have the right body. Samson Ebukam, a 4th round pick, is more muscular and powerful than KVA, a better fit to use at EDGE in the pros but with versatility to drop into coverage in a hybrid role, exactly the way the Rams used him. If KVA flops at ILB, I don't think you can change his position, you're stuck with a backup.

If KVA is such a great pass rusher, why does he only have 4 career sacks? I counted at least 3 times where the QB was flushed into him, helping him make the sack. There are other talented defenders for ND and they helped collapse pockets; it wasn't all KVA doing it on his own.

Routinely half or a full step late anticipating/reacting to routes developing out of play action fakes, losing leverage. In college, he has the speed to erase that gap, but elite NFL weapons will punish him in identical situations. Eye balance off, not always able to immediately notice RBs leaking out.

Typically only in zone, rarely had man pass coverage duties. Not a great backpedal or sudden COD in space. Too upright in coverage, allows his mark to uncover.

Struggles understanding how to "defend as a unit" and do the small things to set up his teammates, sometimes hangs the team out to dry.

He's the slot defender vs TE, bootleg pass to his side. As his TE slides to the inside to crack block the ILB, he should recognize that a threat is coming to the outside. Instead of staying wide to keep leverage vs the ball, KVA takes a false step then a poor angle charging straight upfield. This allows the RB to get outside of him, the QB dumps a short pass to the RB and the RB cuts upfield. The only reason this play doesn't bust for a huge gain is the safety defeats the WR's block downfield and makes the tackle.

Doesn't sacrifice himself and do dirty work by eliminating blockers to set up teammates. RB screen pass. Leonard Moore, the great ND CB, defeats his block and is position to tackle the RB. KVA ruins this by trying to run around the OL block to the inside instead of using his hands and taking on the block directly. This widens the opening and RB cuts inside of Moore to escape the tackle, gaining an extra 10 yards.

Pulling blockers. KVA needs to smash the lead blocker and help the unblocked LB next to him make the play. Instead, he takes a selfish approach and tries to scrape so that he can make the play himself. All this does is create a traffic jam where he's blocking his teammate, standing in his path so that the other LB can't shoot the gap.

48 seconds left in half, Opponent on own 25, 1st down. They call a basic run play up middle. If ND makes tackle, they'll likely just let the clock run out to end the first half. KVA inexplicably gets sucked inside, so when RB breaks tackle by DT, suddenly the outside corner is wide open. RB races downfield for 20 yards and now the offense is thinking points. What a horrific mistake.

Almost always defaults to finesse approach of trying to dip under or run around blocks in space. I hate this. Doesn't have heavy hands to deconstruct 2nd level blocks. By trying to go wide, sometimes ends up out of position, compromising his gap responsibilities.

Lacks instincts to attack downhill vs the run. Too conservative in his approach, ends up catching the RB beyond the LOS instead of meeting them in the hole. Doesn't gamble, can end up in worst of both worlds where he's caught up on the back of his own DL and in the wrong gap when the RB cuts at the line. Doesn't always read the play development right and anticipate what the DT in front of him is going to do. Even when set up by his LB teammate, doesn't take advantage of being 100% unblocked.

Average upper body strength. Can get chewed up and buried by big TEs. Blocked well by the Miami WR the Rams drafted, CJ Daniels. Only average pop when he does take on lead blockers. Not a heavy tackler. RBs with leg drive can power through his grasp. Appears to have relatively small hands, not a strong grip.

 

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Part 4: Draft Grade and Pro comp

4th round grade, Myles Jack (2nd round, 36 overall 2016, Jacksonville Jaguars, UCLA)

Jack played RB and LB in college. If it weren't for a knee injury, he might have been a top 5 overall selection. Jaylon Smith was another LB that year with a similar situation and he went at slot 34.

We don't know yet if KVA will look healthy in 2026. There was an Alabama LB, Dylan Moses, who was an excellent prospect. He suffered a knee injury and missed the entire 2019 season. When he returned, he played poorly, a shadow of his former self. Still, some experts projected him to be a Day 2 pick. Instead, he became an UDFA. He never played in the NFL.

There are multiple reasons I didn't give KVA a high grade, even though many experts see him as potentially one of the best prospects in the 2027 draft. First, he doesn't play a premium position. The Rams signed Nate Landman to a vet minimum contract last year and he played pretty well. Why invest premium draft picks or salary cap space at ILB if you can achieve good return on investment by going bargain shopping? Second, his knee injuries knock him down the board. There's no reason to take him off completely, maybe he'll return and look great. Football is a violent and dangerous sport anyway, so any prospect can get injured after they enter the NFL. DeMarvion Overshown of the Dallas Cowboys has suffered 2 knee injuries in the pros, including a horrific one in 2024 that ruined a great breakout year for him. Third, I think that KVA is overrated by PFF. I don't think he's elite in any particular department. He's not a thumping run stuffer. He's not a shut down coverage LB. He's not the best blitzing LB I've seen in the draft.

Over the years, there have been many LBs I've liked better than KVA who were taken in the 3rd to 4th round area. If a team can regularly find such a LB in the middle of the draft, I don't think it is a good strategy to reach for a similarly tiered player in the 1st to early 2nd round. The same concept applies to drafting positions like RB, C or S. If you are going to get a player at those non-premium positions early, you should really love that prospect and believe that they are special.

KVA is very inexperienced. He's never actually started in college. He's a great athlete and fits how modern NFL defense is played. I think there is definite developmental upside with him if he can regain his health and explosiveness. One of my main problems with him, however, is I think he's too small and underpowered. The reason I like other recent LBs over KVA is they either have longer arms or a thicker and stronger build. I think those body types work better at the NFL level.

I do think that KVA has the potential to become an NFL starter, but I'm not convinced that he's really a Pro Bowl or All Pro level prospect.