Kansas City Chiefs trade up again, select Darian Kinnard 145th overall in 2022 NFL draft
The Kansas City Chiefs satisfied their need for offensive line depth early in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL draft, scooping up offensive lineman Darian Kinnard from Kentucky.
And, for the third time in this draft, the Chiefs made their pick after executing a trade. Kansas City sent the 158th (fifth round) and 233rd (seventh round) overall picks to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for No. 145. That’s the second time the Chiefs have traded up, along with an eight-spot jump to get cornerback Trent McDuffie in the first round, along with a trade back to get wide receiver Skyy Moore in the second round.
He dominated in his senior season for Mark Stoops and the Kentucky Wildcats, earning consensus All-American honors, just the 12th Kentucky player to ever earn that status. He was also a semifinalist for both the Lombardi Award and Outland Trophy.
While offensive linemen don’t accrue many stats, one critical number for Kinnard is five, the total number of penalties accepted against him in his college career.
A major theme for this Chiefs draft has been athleticism, however that’s been prioritized more for defensive players than offensive players. Kinnard and Moore have the lowest Relative Athletic Scores of any of the Kansas City picks so far. Kinnard’s score is a 5.32 out of 10.00 as a guard, while it sits as just a 3.59 as a tackle.
Kinnard offers versatility on the offensive line for a Chiefs team that needs depth at both tackle and guard, but he’s projected by many to be an interior offensive lineman in the NFL. Kyle Crabbs of The Draft Network wrote that Kinnard can be a starting guard at the next level, also writing that he has “the kind of functional power necessary to be a tremendous asset in the ground game.”
The Chiefs are still scheduled to make three more picks in this year’s draft, all in the seventh round with pick Nos. 243, 251 and 259.
