Kamren Kinchens, S Miami: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Kinchens was a four-star recruit from Miami Northwestern Senior High in Miami, Fla. in the class of 2021

Miami safety Kamren Kinchens was an All-American in 2022. He won’t go as high in the 2024 NFL Draft as some people anticipated over the summer, but the junior will still easily be a top 100 selection.

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Kamren Kinchens, S Miami: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Junior safety from Miami, Fla.

Background: Kinchens was a four-star recruit from Miami Northwestern Senior High in Miami, Fla. in the class of 2021. He was the No. 320 recruit according to 247Sports, No. 190 for Rivals, and No. 350 for On3.com. Kinchens was an unranked three-star recruit for ESPN with a 79 grade out of 100. As a high school junior, he tallied 74 tackles, three tackles for loss, nine interceptions, and a punt return touchdown as Miami Northwestern won its third consecutive Florida Class 5A State Championship. Kinchens earned MaxPreps Second Team Junior All-American and Miami Herald First Team All-Dade 5A-2A selections. He picked off a pass in the Legend's Football All-Florida Junior Showcase. Kinchens was born on Sept. 29, 2002.

Injuries & Off-Field: Missed 2022 spring practice with a shoulder injury, carted off against Texas A&M (2023) after a tackle attempt and airlifted to a trauma center, subsequently missed two games after the injury

Awards: 2022 First Team All-ACC, 2022 First Team All-American (Associated Press), 2023 First Team All-ACC

Pros: Special teams experience on the kick return, kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units, rarely penalized throughout college, appears to have good arm length and overall size, quick backpedal, reads the quarterback’s eyes to anticipate throws, good vision and awareness, ball tracking and ball skills, physical at the catch point, coverage range to the near sideline with instances of making sideline-to-sideline plays in one-high, delays slot receivers or tight ends at the tops of their routes, quick to trigger on WR or RB screens, willing contributor in run defense, quick to trigger against run, steps down into the hole to meet the RB, willing to join gang tackles and finish plays, works toward the ball while combating a block, examples of one-on-one open field wrap-up tackling, some jarring hits, impressive pursuit play vs. FSU (2023) from the box to the far sideline to prevent a TD

Cons: Speed is good but not great, transition out of backpedal into forward drive includes a pause, occasionally goes for the interception and misses which leads to a big play for the offense, bites on eye manipulation, trusts his eyes too much and ends up out of position, drawn out of position too easily, caught guessing, lacks recovery speed after biting on double move, delayed halting momentum, some tightness in hips, limited acceleration and top speed, average closing speed, vertical threats blow past him, flat-footed when facing vertical threats, lacks physical traits for single-high duties in the NFL, trigger lacks suddenness, poor angles coming downhill lead to missed tackles, struggles to recover after taking poor angles to the ball, tackling power leads to him being dragged, doesn’t always have the strength to bring down the ball carrier alone, dives with the shoulder instead of wrapping up or playing the ball, slides off tackle attempts, inconsistent against stalk blocks

Overview: Kinchens has special teams experience on the kick return, kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units. He appears to have good arm length, and his overall size and build are impressive. Kinchens aligns in single-high and two-high looks with opportunities to walk down into the slot or bracket slot options up the seam. He reads the quarterback’s eyes to anticipate throws and usually showcases good vision and awareness, although there are lapses. His ball tracking and ball skills jump off the tape. Kinchens will generate meaningful ball production at the next level. He is physical at the catch point and high-points the ball well. The junior has coverage range to the near sideline with instances of making sideline-to-sideline plays in one-high. His closing speed is more impressive on short throws to the flat, screens, and outside runs than it is in intermediate to deep coverage. Kinchens frequently hawked down ball carriers along the sideline, even making a couple of touchdown-saving tackles deep in the red zone in 2023. However, he lacks the range for single-high duties and didn’t showcase the speed to recovery after losing a step in the route. His speed is good but not great, especially when faced with speedsters in space. Kinchens delays slot receivers and tight ends at the tops of their routes and is quick to trigger downhill on screen plays. He is a willing contributor in run defense with a quick trigger. The All-ACC selection steps down into the hole to meet the running back without fear. He lands some jarring hits on ball carriers and put several examples of making one-on-one open-field wrap-up tackles on tape. While he battles blocks to work toward the ball carrier, Kinchens’ ability to shed stalk blocks is inconsistent. His tackling power occasionally leads to him being dragged for extra yards. He sometimes defaults to diving with his shoulder instead of wrapping up and also suffers from sliding off tackle attempts. The former All-American takes poor angles coming downhill, which leads to him missing tackles or struggling to recover from a trail position. In coverage, Kinchens’ has awkward transitions out of his backpedal and when halting his momentum, which hints at some tightness in his hips. This also delays his trigger on plays in front of him. He occasionally goes for the interception and misses, which leads to a big play for the offense. Kinchens trusts his eyes implicitly. This leads to him falling for eye manipulation. His eye discipline is surprisingly poor, causing him to be drawn out of position too often or caught guessing. Kinchens doesn’t have the recovery speed to get back into a route after biting on a double move. His acceleration and top speed are limited. The former four-star recruit is sometimes flat-footed when facing vertical threats, allowing receivers to blow past him.

Overall, Kinchens is a well-rounded safety with an impressive build that supports his physicality and playmaking, but he frequently takes the bait on pass plays, causing coverage busts. Kinchens must become more disciplined to iron out his boom-or-bust approach to coverage. Additionally, he deals with some physical limitations that prevent him from being a scheme and role-versatile prospect.

Role & Scheme Fit: Free safety in a two-high formations like Cover 2

Round Projection: Late Second to Early Third

Size: 6'0", 205 lbs. (Unofficial)

Submitted: 01-05-24