The Green Bay Packers Officially Show Interest In Highly Sought After Safety For 2024 (Report)
During the 2024 off-season, the Green Bay Packers will devote a great deal of attention to their defensive unit. After completely overhauling their defensive coaching staff, the team will likely be searching for some new leaders on that side of the ball. A number of steps have already been taken in that direction. Several safety candidates have already caught the attention of the team, including one that is garnering a lot of interest around the league.
The Green Bay Packers Meet With Extremely Sought After Safety
According to Packers Insider Easton Butler:
The Packers met Miami S Kamren Kinchens informally at the Combine.
Kitchens is widely graded as the second best Safety in the 2024 NFL Draft. A junior in 2023, Kinchens participated in 10 games and took part in 638 snaps. As an all-around player, he made 52 tackles, 11 assists, and added 13 stops. When targeted, Kitchens elicited 2 pass breakups, 5 interceptions, and an unimpressive QB rating of 111.9.
It will be interesting to see if the Packers grab Kitchens with one of their three picks in the first two rounds.
Kamren Kitchens Draft Profile In Full – Green Bay Packers
Jack Gerak of CheeseheadTV had a great breakdown of Kitchens’ Draft Profile:
Strengths
Kinchens’ athleticism is ideal for the safety position. He mostly played center field for the Miami Hurricanes and was excellent at locking down both sides of the field in doing so. This athleticism makes him a dangerous blitzer as well, even when not lined up in the box, as can be seen in his 2023 sack of UNC quarterback Drake Maye.
Kamren plays with a high level of intensity regardless of whether or not the play is schemed his way. This high-motor play style allows him to play clean up when other defenders lose their matchups, a desirable trait in a center fielder.
His frame is advantageous for the position as well. Though it is not his primary alignment, Kinchens is able to line up in the box and play the run effectively. Regardless of his alignment, he is a powerful hitter that does not fear contact.
Weaknesses
Kinchens is a decisive player, which fits his explosive play style, but this causes him to bite on fakes at times and leaves him out of position. This is a dangerous tendency for the last line of defense in a unit.
Though he is an effective clean up tackler due to his motor and willingness to hit, he struggles with his angles of pursuit. Too often, he takes an aggressive angle to the ball that gives the ball carrier a lane. He will need to work on this to excel at the next level.
Kamren struggles at times playing two-high and is easy to confuse with long-developing routes. This may become a bigger issue for him as a professional with the advanced route trees in the NFL.
