Kendal Daniels, S Oklahoma State: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Daniels was a four-star recruit from Beggs High School in Beggs, Okla. in the class of 2021

Oklahoma State safety Kendal Daniels offers unique movement skills for a player his size. He projects as a box safety and potential tight end eraser in the 2024 NFL Draft.

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Kendal Daniels, S Oklahoma State: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Redshirt sophomore safety from Beggs, Okla.

Background: Daniels was a four-star recruit from Beggs High School in Beggs, Okla. in the class of 2021. He was the No. 101 recruit according to 247Sports, No. 132 for Rivals, and No. 76 for On3.com. ESPN ranked him 172nd in the nation with an 83 grade out of 100. Daniels led Beggs to an 11-3 record in 2019 and a 10-3 record in 2020, appearing in the state semifinals both years. He also played on the 2018 squad that finished as state runner-ups. Daniels played wide receiver and safety in high school. He recorded 120 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, six sacks, four interceptions, including a pick-six, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery as a high school senior, earning All-State honors. Daniels also caught 56 passes for 642 yards and ten touchdowns. He amassed 117 tackles and six interceptions, including three pick-sixes, three forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries as a junior. Daniels played basketball at Beggs. He was selected for the 2021 All-American Bowl. Daniels originally committed to Texas A&M before flipping to Oklahoma State. He was born on Dec. 16, 2002.

Injuries & Off-Field: Exited West Virginia (2022) game with an ankle injury

Awards: 2022 Second Team All-Big 12 (Coaches), 2022 First Team Academic All-Big 12, 2022 Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year, 2022 Freshman All-America Team (FWAA)

Pros: Special teams experience on the kick coverage, punt return, and field goal block units, experience playing in the box, slot, and deep safety roles, positive ball production as a redshirt freshman, better movement skills than expected for a player with his build, appears to have plus arm length, size and arm length, long arms give him an advantage at the catch point, long strides to carry slot tight ends vertically, combative with tight ends early in their routes, turns into a missile when firing downhill with a path to the ball, fits and shoots through the B-gap, makes plays as a backside run defender, uses arm length to overcome running back stiff arms, some examples of driving through receivers for tackles, effective blitzer with good closing speed, gets hands in passing lanes when he doesn’t get home as a pass rusher

Cons: Enters 2022 with one year of experience, high-cut with a lean lower body, slow acceleration, change of direction is mediocre, lacks the range for single-high duties, faster slot options stack him vertically, transitions are leggy, lacks recovery speed, focus on the quarterback sometimes leads to him losing his man, physically bumped out of space when covering tight ends, struggles navigating through crowded space, benefited from tipped passes and easy pop up interceptions, pursuit speed and effort are disappointing, takes steep angles against the run, overruns downhill run pursuit, overtaken and outpaced by running backs, tackles low rather than driving through ball carriers, doesn’t come to balance as a tackler consistently, missed tackles are a massive concern, frequently fails to finish open-field tackles

Overview: Daniels has special teams experience on the kick coverage, punt return, and field goal block units. Oklahoma State deployed him in box, slot, and deep safety roles in 2022. He handles some single-high reps but lacks the range to play that role in the NFL. His snaps in the slot are frequently far off the ball to allow adequate cushion and protect Daniels from vertical threats. He also has experience working in deeper zones, including some two-high shells. Daniels takes some snaps as a strong safety playing the robber in Cover 1. He appears most comfortable in box roles, which keep him close to the line of scrimmage and limit his exposure to open space. The redshirt sophomore is tall with long arms, but he’s also high-cut with a lean lower body. He showcases better movement skills than expected of a player with his build. Daniels uses his long strides to carry tight ends vertically out of the slot. Daniels gets physical with tight ends to reroute them near the line of scrimmage. The former four-star recruit uses his long arms to disrupt pass attempts at the catch point and generated impressive ball production as a redshirt freshman. Daniels turns into a missile when firing downhill with a clear path to the ball. He excels at fitting or shooting through the B-gap. Daniels makes plays as a backside run defender, using his arm length to expand his tackle radius. There are some examples of him driving through ball carriers for tackles, but he frequently doesn’t come to balance, dives low, and misses tackle attempts. Daniels is an effective blitzer with good closing speed. He gets his hands in passing lanes when he doesn’t reach the quarterback. As a larger safety, Daniels suffers from some athletic limitations. He’s a slow accelerator with mediocre change of direction skills and leggy transitions. Faster slot options stack him vertically, and he lacks the recovery speed to make up for losing early in routes. Daniels’ focus on the quarterback sometimes leads to him losing his mark in man coverage. Tight ends can bump and dislodge Daniels with physicality. The larger safety struggles navigating through crowded spaces over the middle of the field. The Oklahoma native takes steep angles against the run that often lead to him being out-leveraged by the ball carrier. Daniels lacks the pursuit speed to recover from overrunning his pursuit angles. He frequently fails to finish open-field tackles.

Overall, Daniels is a large safety who is comfortable enough in coverage to work downfield, but he lacks the high-end athletic traits to be a consistent impact defender. His best projection to the NFL is as a box safety, where he can shoot gaps against the run and pick up tight ends early in their routes.

Role & Scheme Fit: Box safety with developmental upside

Round Projection: Fifth Round

Size: 6'4", 213 lbs. (Unofficial)

Submitted: 05-14-23