Rene Konga (born November 14, 2002) is a Cameroonian-Canadian professional American football defensive tackle for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and Louisville Cardinals.
| No. 95 – Miami Dolphins | |
|---|---|
| Position | Defensive tackle |
| Roster status | Active |
| Personal information | |
| Born | November 14, 2002 Ottawa, Ontario |
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Listed weight | 298 lb (135 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Colonel By Secondary School (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) |
| College | Rutgers (2020–2023) Louisville (2024–2025) |
| NFL draft | 2026: undrafted |
| CFL draft | 2026: 6th round, 48th overall pick |
| Career history | |
| |
| Awards and highlights | |
Early life
editKonga was born on November 14, 2002, in Cameroon, before moving to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, when he was young.[1] He initially played basketball before starting to play football at age 13.[2] Konga played football at Colonel By Secondary School, earning league defensive MVP honors in 2019 while accounting for 21 offensive touchdowns. In high school, he was used at running back, defensive end, and placekicker.[1] Konga initially planned to attend Clearwater Academy International in Florida in 2020, but instead reclassified to the class of 2020.[3] A three-star prospect, he committed to play college football for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.[4]
College career
editKonga redshirted as a true freshman at Rutgers in 2020, then posted one tackle in two games in 2021, followed by five tackles, a tackle-for-loss (TFL), a sack and two passes defended in nine games in 2022.[1] He totaled eight tackles, two TFLs and a sack in 2023 before entering the NCAA transfer portal.[5] Konga transferred to the Louisville Cardinals for the 2024 season.[6] He posted 20 tackles, three TFLs and two sacks while starting six games in 2024. In his last year, 2025, Konga started all 12 games he appeared in and tallied 29 tackles, five TFLs, 1.5 sacks and six passes defended, earning second-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) honors.[1] In his college career, he posted 63 tackles, eight passes defended and six sacks while appearing in 44 games.[7] Konga participated in The American Bowl and the 2026 Senior Bowl.[8]
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | Wingspan | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 3+3⁄4 in (1.92 m) | 298 lb (135 kg) | 33+5⁄8 in (0.85 m) | 9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m) | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 4.82 s | 1.60 s | 2.80 s | 4.59 s | 7.03 s | 37.0 in (0.94 m) | 10 ft 2 in (3.10 m) | 20 reps |
| All values from Pro Day[9] | ||||||||||||
In addition to being an NFL draft prospect, Konga was ranked as the third-best prospect eligible for the 2026 CFL draft.[10] Konga was drafted in the sixth round (48th overall) in the 2026 CFL draft by the Ottawa Redblacks. Konga went undrafted in the 2026 NFL draft and signed a free agent deal with the Miami Dolphins the following day.[11][12]
References
edit- 1 2 3 4 Brugler, Dane (April 8, 2026). "The Beast: 2026 NFL Draft Guide" (PDF). The Athletic. p. 429.
- ↑ Deren, Bobby (September 20, 2023). "Rene Konga writing a Canadian success story at Rutgers". 247Sports.
- ↑ Hunt, Todderick (July 15, 2020). "Rutgers shrewdly adds explosive Canadian DL Rene Konga to 2020 class | Scouting report, analysis". NJ.com.
- ↑ Samra, Steve (April 27, 2026). "Rutgers transfer DL Rene Konga commits to Louisville". On3.com.
- ↑ Fonseca, Brian (April 15, 2024). "Rutgers to lose key DL depth with 1st transfer of spring portal window". NJ.com.
- ↑ Sweeney, Pete (April 20, 2026). "Louisville draft prospect describes what a Chiefs top-30 draft visit is like". Kansas City Star.
- ↑ Masala, Mike (April 16, 2026). "Dolphins intrigued by freakishly athletic prospect in 2026 NFL draft". USA Today.
- ↑ "Canadian Rene Konga lands second NFL top 30 visit with Miami Dolphins as draft stock rises". 3DownNation.com. April 10, 2026.
- ↑ "Rene Konga College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved April 26, 2026.
- ↑ "Mesidor retains No. 1 spot in spring edition of CFL Scouting Bureau". Canadian Football League. April 21, 2026. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
- ↑ "Reports: Four Canadians sign NFL deals after draft". Sportsnet. April 25, 2026. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
- ↑ "Dolphins sign 11 undrafted college free agents". MiamiDolphins.com. May 8, 2026. Retrieved May 31, 2026.