IOL, Kentucky
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 322 lbs
Class: Senior
As a four-star recruit in the 2018 class, Kinnard earned 16 offers coming out of high school. He committed to Kentucky over offers from the likes of Boston College, Penn State, and Minnesota and earned a starting role at right tackle in his sophomore year. A two-time First Team All-SEC member, Kinnard was also awarded the Jacobs Blocking Award in 2021 as the SEC’s best blocker and was voted a Consensus First Team All-American.
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Strengths
Kinnard’s biggest strength as a prospect is his physical profile. He is an imposing presence along the offensive line, standing at 6’5″ and 322 lbs. He even played as big as 345 lbs during his time at Kentucky. What makes him such a force in the trenches is that he combines this with arguably the best play strength in this offensive line class. His college tape often looked like a man against boys, and he has the competitiveness and mean streak to finish his blocks.
This makes him an asset in the running game. Kentucky ran a variety of concepts and Kinnard looked comfortable regardless. On gap scheme runs he has the power to displace opponents with ease, carving up opportunities for his running back. He also looked excellent when asked to work combo blocks, both as the post blocker and the seal blocker. On zone plays he has surprisingly good short area quickness to get across the face of a defender and cut them off.
Kinnard also ticks the box when it comes to pass protection. His anchor is particularly noteworthy and his heavy hands allow him to bring defenders to a standstill with ease. His ability to sink his hips and drop his anchor made him almost invulnerable to bull rushes and he will have no problem standing up to the strongest defensive linemen the NFL has to offer. This power profile would also translate well to the interior.
In addition to having outstanding core strength, Kinnard also showed good awareness in pass protection. He is quick to read his opponent and showed a good understanding of stunts and blitzes, picking up loopers and free rushers with ease. This was a huge reason behind him allowing just seven pressures on his 414 pass blocking snaps in 2021. Once again, this will be a hugely valuable trait along the interior.
Weaknesses
The most obvious concern with Kinnard is his hand usage. He has a tendency to rely on two hand punches and is wide more often than not. You don’t often see him reset bad positioning either, which led to issues with sustaining blocks. He was often able to overcome his poor hand usage in college by virtue of his overwhelming power, but this won’t be enough alone to win consistently in the NFL.
The other question mark concerns his athleticism. Whilst Kinnard has decent short area quickness for a man of his size, he isn’t the most fleet of foot. He had issues against speed rushers and struggles to redirect laterally in pass protection. He should be able to stick at tackle in a more run-heavy offense that employs lots of jump sets, but he is likely best suited to playing as a guard in the NFL.
Bottom Line
Kinnard has the size and play strength to be a mauler in the trenches for years to come. Whilst his limited athleticism might force a move inside to guard, he has everything he needs to be an above average starter in the NFL.
Ideal role: Guard in a run-heavy offense
Round projection: 2nd round
