Titans First Round Options: Darian Kinnard

Stoney Keeley looks at the road-grading Darian Kinnard on this edition of Titans First Round Options.

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The 2022 NFL Draft takes place April 28-30 this year, emanating LIVE from Las Vegas, Nevada. As it stands, the Tennessee Titans have one first round draft pick. General manager Jon Robinson and head coach Mike Vrabel currently hold the 26th overall selection. Over the next few months, your boy “Big Natural” Stoney Keeley will be taking a look at some of the prospects who are either rumored to be tied to, have met with, or who make sense for the Titans. Today, we’re lookin’ at the road-grading Kentucky tackle Darian Kinnard.

Kinnard is a guy that I’ve really wanted to write about for the Titans for quite a while. Really, I noticed him on the right side of the line in Senior Bowl drills, and thought he might be an option for the team, as they’re going to be looking for the right tackle of the future. He’s one of those fringe first round guys that a lot of analysts have ranked around the 40 spot. I know Titans fans are going to shudder when I say this, but he reminds me a lot of what I think the Titans hoped Isaiah Wilson would be. Some folks think he’ll be an early second round pick. Some think he’s a third-rounder. But, we saw with Wilson that the Titans simply don’t care about where bloggers are mocking guys. If he’s their guy, he’s their guy. That’s the sort of mentality I’m in when mentioning Kinnard as an option here. We’re spending all of this time talking about guards, receivers, tight ends, and quarterbacks, but there’s still room for the Titans to surprise us. Be ready – Kinnard could be that guy.

Kinnard enters the NFL after back-to-back 1st Team All-SEC seasons in 2020 and 2021. He is the reigning recipient of the Jacobs Blocking Trophy, awarded to the best blocker in the SEC on an annual basis. When you boil it down, size and ‘nasty’ are the names of Kinnard’s game. My man is 6’5″, 322 pounds with a scary wingspan and hands the size of frying pans. My one-liner on him coming out of Mobile after the Senior Bowl: “A potential road-grading right tackle that needs a little more work in dealing with speed.”

I think that’s the biggest knock on his game – in pass pro, he was letting guys get around him in 1:1 drills at the Senior Bowl, reacting a little too slowly to pure speed guys. His overall technique is a little unrefined, and he hasn’t had to really focus on tweaking it because he wins with his size and mauler mentality. Particularly, his hand usage leaves a lot to be desired. But, if he gets with a staff that can refine his skill set, and there’s no reason to think the Titans are no such staff, then he could develop into a boulder on the right side of the line.

Because of the weaknesses I listed above, most scouts are projecting a move inside for Kinnard (and he would be okay with that in case you didn’t watch his interview with Mike Keith embedded above). But, I love his size and demeanor for right tackle. I think whoever drafts him should give him a shot there because man does he look like a right tackle.

Kinnard is a finisher that looks to put people in the dirt and then drive down on top of their dead bodies. He is a people-mover once he gets in position and drives his feet forward. His athleticism is being a bit underrated, too. He’s capable of pulling, and just popping up in a gap to blow it wide open. Imagine being a defender, thinking you’ve got an opening to blow up a run, and then POOF – this 6’5″ 322 pound mountain is suddenly in front of you. It’s fucking awesome. He had some great plays against that vaunted Georgia defense this past season, too. I like his balance, and I like his play strength once he gets set. That’ll be the biggest thing to iron out in my opinion – get set quicker against these fast guys and he’ll improve.

I like Kinnard a lot if you can’t already tell. He would be an absolute steal in the third round, but I really don’t think he’ll last that long. I could see the Titans trading back and scooping up Kinnard with a second round pick, or I could see them just biting the bullet and “reaching” for a guy like Kinnard or Cole Strange if all other options are exhausted. But, the real purpose of this post is to tell you guys not to panic if that’s what ends up happening. Kinnard has the stuff.

Further Reading: Kentucky linemen Luke Fortner, Darian Kinnard viewed as potential mid-round NFL Draft steals

2022 TITANS FIRST ROUND OPTIONS

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Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley

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