The Player
- Kamren Kinchens
- College: Miami
- Height: 5’11″
- Weight: 203 lbs.
- Age: 21 (September 29, 2002)
- Arm: 31 ¼”
- Hand: 9 ¾”
- 40-Yard Dash: 4.65
- 10-Yard Split: 1.59
- Vertical Jump: 35”
- Broad Jump: 9’ 2”
High School
Kinchens was rated as a three or four-star recruit in the 2021 class. He was born and raised in Miami, Florida, and attended Northwestern High School. Kinchens helped Northwestern win three consecutive Florida Class 5A State Championships from 2017 to 2019. His best season came as a Junior, where he recorded over 70 tackles, nine interceptions, and a punt return for a touchdown. Despite being an underrated recruit, the Miami native received offers from top SEC and ACC schools before deciding to stay home and commit to playing football for the Miami Hurricanes.
College
Kinchens wasted no time making an impact for the Hurricanes. He would play in all 12 games as a true freshman, including five starts. The Miami native showed his effectiveness as a high-volume tackler, recording 44 stops and a forced fumble without being given a starting role until the last month of the season. The Hurricanes freshman defensive back would finish fourth on the team in tackles in 2021.
The team named Kinchens the starter heading into his second season, and he did not disappoint. The Miami DB showed his knack for the big plays. He tallied six pass deflections, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and six interceptions, including one for a touchdown. Kinchens also improved his tackle numbers from his freshman to sophomore seasons.
He increased his solo tackles in all three seasons with Miami. He proved how impactful he can be throughout a game. Over his last 22 games, he recorded 11 interceptions and 11 pass deflections while recording 50+ tackles in both seasons. The Miami DB earned first-team All-ACC honors in his sophomore and junior seasons.
Strengths
Physicality
The Miami secondary was fun to watch this season, with a pair of versatile safeties who enjoyed punishing ball carriers. Kinchens subscribes to the enforcer mentality when roaming free in the secondary. He is as tough as nails and is never afraid to make sure the first time a WR catches a slant against him might also be the last. I love how he does it within the league rules, as seen in the clip above. Kinchens reads the TE working up the seam and sets up a turnover, forcing the hit perfectly for his defense. This is a trait some NFL safeties lack, especially with the high level of TEs in the NFL. This is a skill set and mentality that NFL teams have to be interested in from the Hurricanes safety.
Versatility
What makes Kinchens a special talent is his ability to bring physicality and incredible ball skills to a defense. We have seen how a versatile DB can help cover up a lot of mistakes for an NFL defense. When you turn on the tape, you can see the Miami DB at his best as a single high safety, showing the ability to read the quarterback and make plays. Kinchens has elite ball skills, and although he’s not the fastest, he finds a way to always be around the ball.
The Hurricanes DB has led the ACC in interceptions in each of the last two seasons. He has instincts that you simply can’t teach, and his willingness to lay out to make spectacular catches has helped him score 11 interceptions over his past two seasons. Kinchens is also a willing run defender who never fears contact with a ball carrier.
Development Opportunities
Tackling Angles
I’m not going to beat Kinchens up too much on this one because the Miami defense did not have it on this night against Drake Maye and the Tar Heels. However, I see this as an area for improvement for the young DB. There are concerns about Kinchens’ lateral agility and overall speed, which were confirmed during his draft combine testing.
On this particular play, it’s just poor technique more than anything, something that college players routinely get away with. That will not be the case at the next level, and NFL coaches will fix it before he plays significant snaps for a team. There’s room to improve as an open-field tackler, especially if Kinchens sees a role as a single high safety. I feel he fits better as a ‘Big Nickel’ playing closer to the line of scrimmage, but regardless, addressing poor technique or bad angles when attacking ball carriers should be a point of emphasis.
Eye Discipline
Even the best NFL defenders can improve on this, mostly because the game always finds ways to make it easier to play offense and harder to play defense. The Hurricanes’ attacking defense forced Kinchens to see a lot of snaps in deep coverage. He has very good instincts, and they showed up stronger as a zone defender than they did in man coverage.
Kinchens has a remarkable ability to read and react to diagnose a play and any DB in this class. However, he can become lost at times with rub routes and pick plays, especially closer to the red zone. There’s more good than bad when you watch the film. If Kinchens would like to earn a starting NFL role, he will need to be better in this area. Undoubtedly, he can do it, and I believe he’s just scratching the surface of how good he can be as a cover safety.
Landing Spot
The teams that come to mind are the Buffalo Bills, Green Bay Packers, and Pittsburgh Steelers for Kinchens. His skill set fits this aggressive style of defense very well. All of these teams have a fairly big need for safety positions, and he could earn playing time rather quickly. The Bills and Packers have recently lost starters at the DB position. I would look for both teams to look to the NFL draft to upgrade the position.
The Miami DB will bring a positive attitude and swagger to an NFL secondary. Kinchens can learn under veteran players, and that will greatly benefit him. I look forward to seeing him be one of the first safeties off the board in April and likely a second-day pick.
Fantasy Outlook
Over the years, we have seen rookie defensive backs make an instant impact for IDP managers. Kinchens has all the tools to join that group of rookies who can become an effective contributor to your dynasty teams. As with most prospects, the landing spot will greatly impact his fantasy projection for the 2024 season. I believe that even the best talents can thrive in a bad situation. Regardless of where he is drafted, as long as a team shows they are willing to invest in him as a second to fourth-round pick, his value remains consistent as a top safety in the 2024 draft.
The Wrap-Up
I hope the IDP Nerds family is enjoying the IDP rookie profiles as we rapidly approach the 2024 NFL Draft. We look forward to bringing you the top IDP prospects in this draft who will potentially impact your dynasty teams for years to come. As always, we aim to give you an advantage over your league mates by giving you our breakdown of these prospects before they are drafted. As a dynasty manager, there is no offseason, and the team at Dynasty Nerds lives and breathes that way of thinking.
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