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Darian Kinnard NFL Draft Profile
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Darian Kinnard Scouting ReportDarian is a massive guy, with a unique frame. He is trully an eye catching draft prospect. He has the reach to swallow up opposing defenders in pass protection. He has a large reserve of natural power to work with. He also has surprisingly mobility. He moves exceptionally well in open space and has fast, urgent feet moving to the second level. Darian is explosive out of his stance, and he can close ground quickly. He has definite torso and hip flexibility. He also owns a good amount of twitch with additional stored potential energy in his upper body. He possesses enough short range burst to adjust for stunts. His receovry athleticism allows him to make up any lost ground. Darian is an energetic blocker in motion and can drive defenders out of plays with relative ease. He has some definite mauler moments where he puts players in the dirt. He can dominate smaller players and his grip strength makes it a laborious chore to break free. Darian has a clear fighter mentality in one-on-one situations, and he’s shown he can strategically target arms to negate rushes, destabilize, and compromise opponents. He can improve his hand usage, as we’ll get into shortly. Still, he’s not aimless in his intent, and his hands no doubt have forceful capacity. Kinnard flashes ability and energy with his hand technique, and when he gets clean contact, his natural power shines through. |
Areas for ImprovementKinnard’s hand usage has plenty of room for improvement. He flashes promising ability with his hands, but he isn’t especially fast or violent on a consistent basis. He can be more proactive, precise, and authoritative with his approach. Furthermore, his hands don’t always strike their targets cleanly. Kinnard’s inconsistent placement can prevent him from channeling his power effectively. He can also be grabby and penalty prone as a result, and he opens his torso up to opposing power far too much. Kinnard can improve other facets of his scouting report. He sometimes plays with his pads too high, and although he has a wide frame and imposing length, he can lurch at times and sacrifice balance. He sometimes lacks control with his movements, and his feet can be plodding in lateral motion at times. Kinnard can work on refining his positioning. He sometimes tries to exert power before attaining proper positioning. On the opposite end of the spectrum, he can also overshoot blocking angles at the second level. Kinnard sometimes freezes his feet at the beginning of reps, making him vulnerable against speed rushers.
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Darian Kinnard Career at SchoolKinnard came to Kentucky more physically ready than the average tackle. Therefore, he saw action early in his career. Kinnard played in nine games as a true freshman, starting two at left tackle. It wasn’t much experience for the budding star, but he would ride that window of opportunity to a starting role in the 2019 season. In 2019, Kinnard shifted over to right tackle and started all 13 games for the Wildcats. The stalwart blocker reprised his role in 2020 and started 11 games at right tackle. His play improved a notch in 2020, and he was awarded with first-team All-SEC recognition from Phil Steele and the Associated Press. He earned the same honors in 2021 as well. All told, Kinnard 46 games, with 39 starts at tackle. It was a productive career for a collegiate tackle, but NFL teams will be asking more of Kinnard at the NFL level. He’ll have to show he can lower his pads and keep his hands tight at the Senior Bowl. But Kinnard’s testing, raw power, and mauler mentality will earn him fans in the early rounds, regardless.
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Darian Kinnard NFL Draft Player ProfileKinnard’s an exceptional athlete with an excellent combination of short-range explosiveness, urgency, and width. As one would expect with his frame, Kinnard is a powerful blocker with a potentially dominant amalgamation of physical traits. Offensive tackles use their hands and base to channel their physical traits through to their opponents. If a tackle’s base isn’t properly placed or his hands don’t land effectively, those physical traits aren’t used to their maximum potential. Beyond that, Kinnard can also keep his hands tighter to avoid power rushes, and he can work on better lowering his pad level. Darian has visible athleticism and power on tape. Additionally, he trimmed some weight at the Senior Bowl, and could glean more athleticism from his frame as a result. If he can learn to support his traits better and employ them with increased efficiency, he can be an impact starter at tackle or guard in the NFL.
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