Side note, I wanted to say that the reason Kobolds were so popular to me in 1e/2e was because in those days of pen and paper and limited resources, you start your campaign and you are looking for creatures that will not kill the adventurers at 1st level. They only did 1-4 damage so even a cleric could take a hit without dying.
There was no connection to dragons that I recall of, must have been 3rd edition or later when I wasn’t playing.