From prospects to pros: 2022 NFL Draft résumé for Kentucky offensive lineman Darian Kinnard
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This year’s NFL Draft is April 28-30. A number of former University of Kentucky stars are eligible, and many are expected to be selected this year. We’re taking a look at every UK player who hopes to have their name called.
Darian Kinnard
Height: 6-foot-5.
Weight: 322 pounds.
Hometown: Knoxville, Tenn. (St. Ignatius, Ohio).
Projected NFL position: Guard.
What you’ll remember about him at UK: Kinnard’s ferociousness as a blocker jumps out when you look back at his tape, and that trait helped make him in 2021 just the second player in school history to win the Jacobs Trophy, awarded annually to the best blocker in the Southeastern Conference. Warren Bryant (1976) is the only other Wildcat to earn that distinction. UK’s offensive line was named a finalist for the Joe Moore Award in 2021.
Key stats: Had a team-leading 30 knockdown blocks in 2021. Was one of just three Power Five offensive linemen to earn a season-long grade of 85 or better from Pro Football Focus in pass and run blocking. Gave up just one sack as a senior.
Career development: Per 247Sports, Kinnard as of April ranks as the 40th best recruit to ever sign with Kentucky, and until a few years ago he would have been one of the top 15 recruits signed by Mark Stoops. The U.S. Army All-American carved out a role in UK’s rotation immediately as a true freshman, starting two games in 2018, and went on to start the final 39 games of his career. Had he declared for the NFL Draft following his junior season, he might have been selected in the general vicinity of where he’s projected to go this year, but he hoped to earn the left tackle job left vacant by Landon Young. That didn’t pan out, but he remained dominant on the right side, and became the school’s first lineman to become a consensus First Team All-American since Sam Ball in 1965.
Latest draft projections: Kinnard should be drafted no later than the third round. PFF tabs him as the No. 62 overall prospect in the draft, highest among UK players. Ryan Wilson of CBS Sports is high on Kinnard; he has him going 54th overall to New England. Mel Kiper (ESPN) and Dane Brugler (The Athletic) project him to go in the third round, though at different times: Kiper has the Green Bay Packers selecting him with the 92nd pick while Brugler’s has him going 21 picks earlier to the Chicago Bears.
His future: Though he played right tackle almost exclusively at Kentucky, most analysts project Kinnard as a guard at the next level. Interior linemen typically earn less than their outside peers, but a player with Kinnard’s combination of size, athleticism and tenacity has the potential to be an All-Pro caliber guard if he masters the position, particularly when it comes to pass protection. At a minimum, Kinnard should be one of, if not the, best run-blocking rookies in the league this fall. While he might not be drafted by a team to play tackle, his experience there should increase his value as a potential draftee.
Quote: “Every time we stepped on that field and stepped on the practice field, we were somebody that nobody wanted to mess with. We didn’t get the name ‘Big Blue Wall’ just for being cupcakes out there.” — Darian Kinnard, to local reporters ahead of UK’s Pro Day.
This story was originally published April 21, 2022 at 8:06 AM.
