Getty The Kansas City Chiefs saw a draft pick elect to leave the organization ahead of NFL free agency.
The Kansas City Chiefs hit on a franchise-altering draft class in 2022. After trading wide receiver Tyreek Hill for a haul of draft capital ahead of free agency that offseason, general manager Brett Veach proceeded to select key contributors like cornerback Trent McDuffie, defensive end George Karlaftis III, safety Bryan Cook, linebacker Leo Chenal, running back Isiah Pacheco and cornerbacks Joshua Williams and Jaylen Watson.
Needless to say, this rookie class helped revamp the KC defense and the extra picks allowed Veach to take several flyers on different positions. In the end, his decisions resulted in back-to-back Super Bowl titles.
Having said all that, it wasn’t a perfect draft class in 2022. Second-round wide receiver Skyy Moore — initially dubbed as a potential Hill replacement — has struggled at the NFL level, and a season-ending training camp injury slowed the development of promising seventh-round defensive back Nazeeh Johnson.
Quite possibly the biggest bust of the large group of rookies was offensive lineman Darian Kinnard, however. And the failed fifth-round blocker elected to leave the organization to sign with the Philadelphia Eagles on February 20, following the expiration of his practice squad contract.
Darian Kinnard Goes From Predicted Chiefs’ Draft Gem to Forgotten Prospect
Ironically, out of all of KC’s potential 2022 draft sleepers that he could have chosen, The Athletic’s Dane Brugler highlighted Kinnard as a day three draft gem on May 2, 2022.
“On the final day of last year’s draft, the Chiefs landed a steal with Trey Smith, a mauling guard from the SEC,” the scouting expert noted at the time. “A similar situation happened this year with Kinnard who could has easily been drafted on Day 2 but slipped a little because of his sloppy tendencies.”
“Nonetheless, Kinnard is a bully who can see playing time at tackle and guard,” Brugler concluded.
In the end, the Kentucky product only appeared in one NFL game over two seasons of work, logging just six special teams snaps according to Pro Football Reference.
Kinnard made the 53-man roster as a rookie but was practically redshirted as a healthy scratch all year. The following August, the Chiefs chose to waive the youngster at the cutdown.
Passing through waivers successfully, Kinnard agreed to sign with the Kansas City practice squad for the season. He was not poached to anyone’s active roster throughout the campaign, but now that teams have the ability to utilize their 90-man rosters again, it appears the Eagles will give the versatile backup a look.
Chiefs Still Searching for Long-Term Offensive Tackle Starters After Eric Fisher & Mitchell Schwartz
Although Kinnard quickly moved to guard, he began his Chiefs career as a right tackle candidate. As we know, that didn’t work out for KC, but that’s been the case for most of the offensive tackle acquisitions since the days of Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz.
Now, have the Chiefs done enough at O-tackle in recent years? Clearly, yes, considering the two championships. But it has not been an area of strength.
Initially, Veach traded for Orlando Brown Jr. in effort to replace Fisher — but Kansas City later allowed the up-and-down left tackle to walk in 2023 free agency. With Cincinnati this year, Brown led the entire NFL for most quarterback pressures allowed at 59 (per Pro Football Focus), so choosing not to pay him proved wise in the end.
Unfortunately, Veach did pay right tackle Jawaan Taylor instead, and his pass protection numbers weren’t far behind Brown’s at 47 pressures allowed. Taylor also led all offensive linemen with 20 regular season penalties.
Since 2020, the Chiefs have also drafted OTs Lucas Niang and Wanya Morris — as well as Kinnard — signed Prince Tega Wanogho and promoted Andrew Wylie, among other moves like bringing in 2023 placeholder Donovan Smith to start a left tackle.
Patrick Mahomes’ pocket presence and mobility have helped mask this deficiency over the past few years, but this is one issue that Veach and head coach Andy Reid still must solve long-term. As their superstar quarterback continues to get older, it will be imperative that the offensive tackle play improves.