Darian Kinnard, OT at Kentucky came through the draft and was selected by the Chiefs in the 5th round. He came away from the experience saying he had a chip on his shoulder due to the late selection. I cannot say why Darian was drafted so late but it is the Chiefs good fortune that he was available to select in Round 5 of a draft that Brett Veach had been clearly focused on defensive players. When I looked at Kinnard earlier in the year, I felt he was a 3rd round draft pick, but team desperate for an OT with all the value taken off the board, I thought it was possible that he would be drafted in the 2nd. I did not see him getting beyond the 3rd. As the draft unfolded and the Chiefs selected Kinnard in the 5th round, you had to have rated that pick as an “A+”. At least I did so in my post draft evaluation.
When Looking for the NFL Fit?
I watched tape and reviewed everything that I could find. Finally, I deferred to Seth Keysor’s evaluation for Darian’s fit for the NFL and I am buying in big time. To quote Seth:
“Though Kinnard has a defined set of weaknesses, the reality is he put together consistently good tape against top-level competition for three straight years as a right tackle in college. He’s a smart but also violent player who has a defined set of strengths as well, and knows how to use them to consistently win.
You know what that reminds me of? Orlando Brown and Trey Smith as pros. Both of them are players who have some weaknesses in their game (some of which are similar to the limitations Kinnard has), but both of them have significant strengths and are smart enough players to learn out to leverage those into being good players at the pro level.”
Kinnard Basic Credentials
Kinnard was a top-100 recruit from St. Ignatius High School in Ohio though he grew up in Kentucky. For the Wildcats, Kinnard earned credentials:
- 2020 – third-team Associated Press All-American
- 2020 – Second-team All-SEC selection after starting all 11 games at right tackle for the Wildcats in 2020.
- 2021 – First-team Associated Press All-American honors
- 2021 – SEC Jacobs Blocking Trophy as the conference’s top offensive lineman
- 2019-2021 SEC Competition – playing against top level defenders
Strengths(According to NFL.com Analysts)
- Oak tree frame with proportional thickness throughout.
- Premium wingspan with enormous hands.
- Able to generate instant movement when his technique is right.
- Torques and turns defender out of the gap.
- Looks for physical, nasty block finishes(Proven Pancake Artist-deb)
- Maintains balance and posture when punching.
- Adequate hand strength to cut short his opponent’s rush plan.
- Frame and strength will make him a challenge to circumvent inside.
- Ankle flexibility aids in his sets
- Good balance with his anchoring feet
Weaknesses (every item on this list is a coachable exposure)
- Oversetting needs to be monitored and corrected.
- His mirroring cracks during second half of the rush.
- Hugs and engulfs rather than working with inside hand placement.
- Struggles to get block centered and keep it there.
- Sloppy feet diminish contact balance.
- Needs improved technique for double teams and work-up blocks.
Metrics
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 322 lbs
Arm Length*: 35″
Performance Numbers
40-Yard: 5.21* (RAS Shows 5.71 which is wrong)
Broad Jump: 99*
3-Cone: 8.11
Short-Shuttle: 4.96*
Vertical: 2
Hands: 11.25″*
Prospect Grade: 6.24 Will be at least an average starter(NGStats)
I thought that the rating was too low for Kinnard since the weaknesses could all be addressed by coaching. Perhaps that is why Kentucky doesn’t mount NCAA campaigns in the SEC. As I noted above, I thought he was a 3rd round pick and worthy of selection. They way I see Kinnard is that he is a player with a highly powered motor with great hands that work violence against his opponent. His straight up blocking was evident in the game film, top drawer stuff. Like many big men, he has limited lateral speed(something to work on). Kinnard’s RAS Shows us a lot though I think his 40 speed was 5.21 and 5.31 which would make his speed grade High level and up his overall grade to far beyond the 5.32:
Kinnard has a very good base and is powerful at the point of attack. When engaged in run blocking Kinnard use of his hands or fighting off the defender is very good. Like Trey Smith, he is a nasty, hard hitting offensive lineman. Among the weaknesses, his foot usage needs to be cleaned up and centering his blocks for pass protection is something to work on. One of the notes from the NFL is that he does not use his hands well in pass-blocking, especially in the underneath position. In fact, if you put Smith and Kinnard on the right side, the ground game will be in good hands with Smith and Kinnard setting up violence in their blocks.
Ron Kopp of Arrowhead pride had a good article and appraisal of what Kinnard Brings to the OL Room. Review it here: https://www.arrowheadpride.com/2022/5/11/23062296/chiefs-film-review-kentuckys-darian-kinnard-has-foundation-as-right-tackle
In pass protection, he will struggle against speed rushes outside. Again, that is something the coaching staff must and will address. Darian will have to work hard on his footwork in order to disrupt the edge rusher’s path. Better use of hands in pass protection will aid him with the edge rusher. We haven’t seen him work against NFL players in pads. that is what will be interesting in camp. If Kinnard can work out his footwork and his hand usage in pass protection, it possible he cold win the ROT starting role for 2022 but he will face stiff competition from Geron Christian and Andrew Wylie, both experienced NFL hands at the Right side tackle position.
Film Study (review is good but the analyst had him ranked far better than Kinnard should have been). See Film, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2I58CupIlE
Right now?
Kinnard has all the tools to be a foundation player for the Chiefs. His style of play bears on my my reasoning for thinking he could win the ROT role outright. I thought he was undervalued during the draft to an extreme. This provided Brett Veach the opportunity to obtain a player who could excel. It’s true that I have Lucas Niang as the Chiefs foundation ROT of the future. But we don’t even know if Niang will be ready in camp. That is why drafting Darian Kinnard is important. If Niang is not back in camp, the way I see it unfolding a 3 player battle that ends up something like this: Geron Christian takes on the role of SW/T, Andrew Wylie would have the inside track to win the role due to his experience on the Chiefs offensive line. But Wylie is an average NFL offensive lineman. I am up for pleasant surprises however. Wylie can play at ROT or on the IDL which has added value. Christian has experience on both the right and left side from his Houston Days. Kinnard, if he is like Smith last year, once he has the opportunity to work as a starter, I don’t think he will relinquish the job without a tremendous fight.
As you can tell, I like Kinnard a bunch. As Seth Keysor observed in a tweet: The unfortunate part of the competition for a starting role is that Lucas Niang’s injury may have put him on the outside looking in. But both Niang and Kinnard can play inside. Any way I look at things, I see that the ROT position may be up for grabs but Lucas Niang(when he gets back), Geron Christian(rising talent from Houston with time both on the left and right), and Andrew Wylie(last year taking over for Niang and prior experience as a staring OG)are going to give a huge effort.
Kinnard’s play style, aggressiveness, violence at the LoS does indeed remind me of Trey Smith and that takes us to school on the quality of player Darian is. As I noted, if Kinnard gets the time starting in camp, he will come out on top.
David Bell – ArrowheadOne