The third round of the 2024 NFL Draft saw some mixed results from Rams fans with the selection of Michigan RB Blake Corum and Miami safety Kamren Kinchens. After a massive move in the second round that has been widely criticized, the Rams added two impact players in the third round.
My hot (?) take is that, outside of first-round pick Jared Verse, no other Rams rookie will have as large an impact as Kamren Kinchens will.
Kamren Kinchens is a starter
I feel pretty confident in saying that Kamren Kinchens has all but locked up a starting spot with the team. He steps right into the void left behind by the departures of Jordan Fuller and John Johnson III.
Kinchens isn't an elite athlete by any stretch, and that was likely why he slid in the NFL Draft. However, what I like about Kinchens is that his eyes get him to places faster than his tools suggest. He's a smart and instinctual player, something that the Rams desperately need in the secondary to fill that void.
His film frequently shows a player quickly recognizing and diagnosing the play in front of him, and then moving to make a play. He isn't the smartest defensive back I have ever evaluated, but he's up there in terms of route recognition, his awareness in coverage, and his run defense.
I'm a fan of Kinchens in the run game as well. He still has to work on his tackling form, but he is physical and isn't afraid to fly downhill and get involved in the run fit. He also takes very good pursuit angles and isn't passive about tackling, something that the Rams have had their fair share of issues with recently.
As stated above, the only hang-up with Kinchens is his athletic ability. There are moments on film where Kinchens' brain will work faster than his body does and you can see him stumble in the open field when changing directions. I do believe he is a better athlete than his testing numbers suggest, but I don't believe he is *that* much better. For these reasons, I don't think Kinchens is a true chess piece you can deploy everywhere.
Kinchens played deep often at Miami, and that's where he is best suited at, though I do believe he is capable of being played deep and closer in the box. To put his ability in perspective, he is reminiscent of John Johnson III, who has never been an above-average athlete but his football IQ and instincts took him further than his tools did. However, Kinchens is still just 21, and still has plenty of room to grow and improve, an intriguing part of his evaluation. How good can he be in two years? Three?
Kinchens lets the Rams be versatile
Maybe the best thing about the Kinchens selection is how much it frees up the Rams' personnel on the back end. The team signed Kamren Curl in free agency and still has Quentin Lake, Russ Yeast, and Jason Taylor II on the roster. However, Kinchens may be the best out of all of them at playing deep. His ability to do that frees up Kam Curl to be closer to the line of scrimmage, where he's best suited, and lets the Rams mix and match him and Lake around the formation.
Some of the combinations are intriguing and worth exploring. On any given play, the Rams' defensive back room could be in entirely different alignments.
For example, the Rams could have Kinchens and Lake deep with Curl playing in the slot. Or, the team could have Kinchens and Curl playing split-field with Lake in the slot. Or, Curl could play a dimebacker spot, with Kinchens and Lake deep and Cobie Durant playing in the slot. Kinchens could slide into the box, let Lake rotate deep post-snap, and have Curl in the slot.
These possibilities create lots of potential, and the Rams have spoken often about their desire to be multiple in coverage. The selection of Kamren Kinchens frees up their personnel to do just that.
With his ability on the field and what his presence can do, Kinchens is an example of what I call the "personnel multiplication factor". Kinchens is a good player in his own right, but his presence improves the rest of the roster and frees the team up to be creative. That's an example of this factor.
For these reasons, I do believe Kinchens will be the most impactful rookie on the Rams' roster outside of first-round pick Jared Verse, who will likely have the same impact on the Rams' defensive front. His ability to start right away and handle impactful duties for the Rams lets the Rams play guys at their best roles, overall generating a net positive just by having him. Being able to select him at the end of the third round was a steal for his potential impact, and the Rams may have found yet another third-round gem.