2024 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Kamren Kinchens

Prospect 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 re-established Miami for elite safety play in college football, and there will plenty of NFL teams hoping to land the ballhawking free safety.

Kinchens turned in a solid freshman season for the Hurricanes, recording 44 tackles and four passes broken up. After gaining a year of experience, Kinchens was one of the best safeties in college football in 2022, putting together a stellar season for the Hurricanes while totaling 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.

As a junior, Kinchens had a superb early-season outing with a huge game against Texas A&M, but a head/neck injury saw him carted off the field and sent to the hospital. After missing two contests, Kinchens was back and picked up where he left off as a sophomore. Over 10 games in 2023, Kinchens totaled 59 tackles, six interceptions and 10 passes batted. To record six interceptions in back-to-back seasons is incredible ball production that illustrates phenomenal instincts and ball skills.

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

Throwing deep against Kinchens is a risky proposition because his ball skills are phenomenal. He is a real threat to get a read on the ball and snatch it away for an interception. Tracking the pass 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 who 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 Kinchens 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 who can handle being the eighth man in the box to allow Kinchens to do what he does best: patrol the deep part of the field as the centerfielder free safety. Kinchens is a hard hitter and not putting him in the box could help to protect him from injury. Some NFL sources are worried that Kinchens could hit himself out of the pro ranks because of how violent he is and not being a big safety.

Kinchens is a second-day talent for the 2024 NFL Draft. As a pro, I think he could be a very good free safety who is a playmaker, game changer, and special player.