2024 NFL Draft Player Preview: Kamren Kinchens

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Kamren Kinchens, 5-11/202 Safety Miami

Kamren Kinchens 2024 Preview
By Charlie Campbell

Career Recap: Kinchens had a solid freshman season for the Hurricanes recording 44 tackles with four passes broken up. After gaining a year of experience, Kinchens was one of the best safeties in college football in 2022 with a stellar season in Miami. Kinchens totaled six interceptions, five passes defended, and 59 tackles. That huge season of ball production put him on the map for the NFL heading into his junior year.



2023 Season Outlook: Miami has a relatively easy schedule. His best tests could come against North Carolina and Clemson in back-to-back weeks in mid October. Last year Kinchens played well against Tar Heels quarterback Drake Maye and he will be needed to step up again to limit the dangerous quarterback. Florida State wide receiver Johnny Wilson will be another good test for Kinchens on Nov. 11.

Skill-Set Summary: The Miami Hurricanes have been known as ‘Tight End U’ but safety is a position they have consistently produced some very good pro prospects. There have been all-time greats like Ed Reed, Sean Taylor, and Bennie Blades along with other quality safeties like Kenny Phillips and Brandon Meriweather. After a lull, Kinchens arrival in South Florida has reestablished Miami for elite safety play in college football and there will plenty of NFL teams hoping to land the ballhawking free safety.

For the NFL, Kinchens is a true single deep free safety. Kinchens can line up deep downfield, read routes, read the eyes of the quarterback, and shut down completions deep down the field. He has the speed to get from the middle of the field to the sideline with excellent diagnosis and route recognition skills. Kinchens is an instinctive defender on the back end that quickly sees what an offense is trying to do. With a burst, Kinchens eats up ground and disrupts passes downfield. Kinchens is a very smooth mover with fluidity in his backpedal and loose hips to turn and run. In deep coverage, Kinchens is a dynamic defender that can shutdown the deep part of the field.



Throwing deep against Kinchens is a risky proposition as his ball skills are phenomenal. Kinchens is a real threat to get a read on the ball and snatch it away for an interception. Tracking the ball in flight and taking perfect angles is an innate ability for Kinchens. He has tremendous hands and body control to sure the catch or slap the ball away from receivers. Kinchens is a dangerous ball hawk on the back end that will make teams pay for trying to hit shot plays deep down the field. On top of being a dynamic zone coverage safety, Kinchens is a solid and willing run defender. He will come downhill to make tackles and is skilled at making some clutch tackles in the open field. While he is not the biggest of safeties, he is put together pretty well for his size and is able to tackle. As a pro, it could help him to have a reliable strong safety next to him that can handle being the eighth man in the box to allow Kinchens to do what he does best and that is patrol the deep part of the field as the centerfielder free safety.

It could be difficult for Kinchens to match his ball production in 2023 as teams will probably account for him and work to avoid him. If he stays consistent in providing good deep coverage the decreased production won’t matter much to NFL teams. For the next level, Kinchens looks like a starting free safety with the potential to be one of the better free safeties in the NFL.



2024 NFL Draft Expectations: Entering the 2023 season, Kinchens looks like an early-round prospect for the 2024 NFL Draft.

2024 NFL Draft Player Previews - Choose Player 2024 NFL Draft Player Previews - Home Joe Alt, OT, Notre Dame Terrion Arnold, CB, Alabama Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia Javon Bullard, CB, Georgia Caelen Carson, CB, Wake Forest Cooper DeJean, CB, Iowa Emeka Egbuka, WR, Ohio State Olumuyiwa Fashanu, OT, Penn State Michael Hall Jr., DT, Ohio State Marvin Harrison, WR, Ohio State TreVeyon Henderson, RB, Ohio State Kamren Kinchens, S, Miami Kalen King, CB, Penn State J.C. Latham, OT, Alabama Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina Kool-Aid McKinstry, CB, Alabama Malachi Moore, S, Alabama Malik Nabers, WR, LSU Zion Nelson, OT, Miami Johnny Newton, DT, Illinois Rome Odunze, WR, Washington Ruke Orhorhoro, DT, Clemson Ja'Tavion Sanders, TE, Texas T'Vondre Sweat, DT, Texas Bralen Trice, DE, Washington Dallas Turner, LB, Alabama Jared Verse, DE, Florida State Caleb Williams, QB, USC Johnny Wilson, WR, Florida State Xavier Worthy, WR, Texas

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