The 2022 NFL Draft will be a great event for teams to start building for their future. Here is the Darian Kinnard 2022 NFL Draft Profile.
Position: Offensive Tackle
Size: 6-foot-5, 345 pounds
Class: Senior
2021 stats: First Team All-American
Kinnard showed tremendous growth during his college career and turned into one of the best college offensive linemen. He is now headed to the NFL.
Out of high school, Kinnard was a three or four-star recruit by most recruiting rankings and decided to leave the state of Ohio to play for Kentucky. He didn’t play much his first year, but did end up starting two of the last three games at left tackle. Kinnard started at right tackle as a sophomore in 2019. He helped the Wildcats win eight games including the Belk Bowl to cap off the season. For the 2020 season, he returned to right tackle and was an All-American by several media outlets. Kentucky won the Gator Bowl to end the 2020 season. Kinnard was a consensus All-American for his play in 2021 and helped the Wildcats win 10 games including the Citrus Bowl.
Following his great career, Kinnard is one of the better offensive line prospects in the draft. He currently is a projected first or second-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Darian Kinnard #70
Kinnard has good size for an NFL offensive lineman. He stands at 6-foot-5 and 345 pounds, which makes him one of the bigger lineman in the class. His size gives him tremendous power at the point of attack. He also has decent length, especially if he moves inside to guard.
With his size comes great strength. He is bigger than most defensive linemen he will face. Kinnard is great in a phone booth because he can overpower defenders in both the run game and in the passing game. He can anchor very well with his great functional strength.
During his time at Kentucky, Kinnard was able to show off his prowess as a run blocker. He has tremendous power and can clear huge holes. Kinnard maintains good leverage and can move his matchup completely out of the way. He also can get to the second level and block linebackers. His ability to finish plays with a pancake block and his angry demeanor help in the run game.
He played well at tackle in college, but may move to guard in the NFL. If he does move to guard, that will take an adjustment period, but could fill his strengths better because he doesn’t have the greatest lateral mobility. It would seem to fit his strengths well and his versatility could help his value, but learning a new position is never easy.
One of the reasons that he is projected to move to guard by some is because his pass blocking needs improvement. His pass sets aren’t the greatest and speed rushers can get the edge on him, even though he does solidly against power rushers.
His hand power is solid, but he really needs to work on his hand placement and timing to improve his game. He can get his hands on a defender late, which gives them the edge. He also needs to get his hands more inside rather than having them get out wide.
Projected Draft Range: First Round Pick-Second Round Pick
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