2024 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Kamren Kinchens

Strengths

• Excellent burst and closing speed from single-high safety spot
• Demonstrates ability to read route concepts and put himself into position to make plays
• Very aggressive thumper in run support
• Displayed excellent versatility: Miami played him as single high safety, cover-2 safety, Buffalo nickel, slot corner
• Effective blitzer, adequate at line of scrimmage

Weaknesses

• Aggressiveness can cause him to bite on routes and open up deep shots
• In off-coverage, gets a little too deep in his drop
• Occasionally late when covering deep boundary shots
• Tackling efficiency noticeably dipped toward end of 2023 (business decisions?)

Final Thoughts and Chicago Bears Fit for Kamren Kinchens

If Vic Fangio could create the perfect safety for his scheme in a laboratory, it would look an awful lot like Kamren Kinchens. The Miami product has the hard-hitting ability of a box safety with the uncanny ranginess of a ball-hawking center fielder.

For that reason, I see a little Sean Taylor in his game. Obviously, Taylor is a tier above Kinchens, but the big-hitting safety who can also roam center field seems to be Miami's specialty. Kinchens looks to be the next in a long line of stud defensive backs from the U.

There are concerns with his game, but they're insufficient to warrant him dropping below a top-50 pick. Kinchens is a day-one starter in the NFL, and his versatility makes him almost scheme-proof. However, his ceiling would be reached if a team used him like the New Orleans Saints use Tyrann Mathieu or the Los Angeles Chargers use Derwin James.

Kinchens would be an effective player for the Chicago Bears, but he'd be a luxury the team couldn't afford to take as highly as he'll go. The Bears have already invested three second-round picks into their defensive backfield. With a litany of other needs on their roster, it would be unwise to use another pick on a player like Kinchens, especially when the base Cover-2 defense the Bears run likely won't maximize his talents.

Pro Comp: A more polished Andre Cisco