The Kentucky Wildcats were fortunate to have one of the best offensive linemen in the country, Darian Kinnard, who manned proper tackle positions for four years.
Now Kinnard is heading to the NFL as his professional aspirations came true tonight when he was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs. He was the 145th pick in Round 5 of the NFL draft.
The 6-foot-5, 345-pound behemoth arrived in Kentucky as a highly acclaimed recruit. The former US Army All-American was ranked as a 4-star contender by 247 Sports and the 247 Sports Composite Rankings.
A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Kinnard selected the Cats to the Cincinnati Bearcats, Indiana Hoosiers, Iowa State Cyclones, Maryland Terrapins, Minnesota Golden Gophers, Missouri Tigers, Penn State Nittany Lions, Purdue Boilermakers, UCLA Bruins, and the West Virginia Mountaineers, among others .
Kinnard played in 46 career games with 39 straight starts at right tackle at the “Big Blue Wall” as he was an integral part of the O-Line unit, which won the Joe Moore Award for best offensive line four times in a row the nation has been awarded seasons, including finalists in 2021.
Kinnard earned first-team Consensus All-American status last season as a senior, Britain’s first offensive lineman to hold that honor since Sam Ball in 1965, and Britain’s 12th Consensus All-American in history. He was also awarded the 2021 Jacobs Blocking Trophy.
As a freshman, Kinnard started two of the team’s last three games at left tackle and played a total of nine games before moving to the right flank permanently. As a sophomore, he started all 13 competitions in correct tackle. And as a junior, he was named an Associated Press third-team All-American selector and second-team All-SEC selector after starting all 11 games in right tackles.
Kinnard was an absolute anchor for the Big Blue Wall, dominating every time he took the field as you can see from his monstrous PFF records.
Despite dominating the best conference in America, he appears to be encountering limitations in flat and bounce moves. It is widely expected that Kinnard will move inside at the highest level of the sport, which should see him have a long career. Quite simply a Mauler, Kinnard uses his physical advantages to overwhelm opponents.
Kinnard saw possible late first and early second round grades towards the end of the 2021/22 season but unfortunately fell much further than originally expected. Part of this could be due to controversial political statements he made during the preliminary draft process.
Regardless, I think he’ll be fine, especially with a Chiefs team that will be battling for Super Bowl titles for the foreseeable future.
Fun fact: His aunt is a first cousin of country music legend Dolly Parton.
Let’s wish Kinnard the best of luck as he begins his NFL career. And as always Go Cats!