It was a surprise to see Kamren Kinchens’ name still on the board at No. 99 overall in the third round of the 2024 draft. He was a ball hawk at Miami, picking off 11 passes in the last two seasons alone, returning two of them for touchdowns.
He also laid the hammer quite a few times in college, proving to be a big hitter in the secondary when he sized up ball carriers. So why did he fall so far in the draft? Most likely because of his 4.65 time in the 40-yard dash, but with the Rams being a team that doesn’t prioritize testing numbers, they snatched him up.
That decision is already paying dividends because Kinchens is shining in the Rams’ secondary. He has three interceptions, one of which being a 103-yard pick-six, making 26 total tackles and forcing one fumble.
He was voted NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his two-interception game in Week 9 and on Sunday, he jumped off the screen again with his third interception. Pro Football Focus selected Kinchens to its Week 11 Team of the Week and also named him both Rookie of the Week and and Defensive Player of the Week.
The third-round draft pick out of Miami had his best game in the NFL to date, earning a 92.6 PFF grade to lead all defensive players in the NFL in Week 11. Along with an interception, he also finished the game with a forced fumble and two defensive stops.
His 92.6 grade was the highest of any defensive player in the league and also set a career-high for him through 10 games, making a huge impact on defense in the Rams’ win over the Patriots.
KAM SAID BALL GAME!
📺: @NFLonFOX | #RamsHouse pic.twitter.com/zODAJV4LWs
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) November 17, 2024
Sean McVay loves the aggression and ball skills Kinchens has shown up to this point and believes he’s only going to get better as he gains confidence.
“You could say, ‘What’s this guy about? What does the tape tell me what this guy is about?’ He’s competitive,” McVay said. “He’s tough. I thought he played pretty – it felt like he was sometimes playing at a different speed than everyone else yesterday. You could see he doesn’t flinch at the point of contact. I thought he made some great open-field tackles. He’s continuing to get an understanding. He’s got great range and great athleticism, but he’s continuing to get an understanding of, where do I fit within these coverage contours? Where are people trying to attack me? It’s another game where he ends up making a game-changing play to be able to close it out. I appreciate his awareness as a young guy to go down and just let us knee it out. I know [Christian] Rozeboom was yelling at him, but he’s a stud. I thought he really made his presence felt throughout the course of the game and the confidence is continuing to grow as he’s getting reps.”
Kinchens isn’t technically a starter and has only played 33% of the defensive snaps this season, but he’s having the impact of a playmaker every time he steps on the field. There have been some expected growing pains, whether it’s penalties, falling out of position in coverage or missing tackles, but Kinchens has been outstanding in two of his last three games.
As a third-round pick, he has a chance to be a future star in this league and every team that passed on him because of his 40 time is likely to regret it.
“He’s getting more and more confident,” McVay added. “He’s getting a bunch of reps in practice. A lot of that practice, performance and preparation is starting to equal game reality for these young cats. It’s cool to see.”
