Rams 2nd-year defender highlighted as LA's most underappreciated player
Rams 2nd-year defender highlighted as LA's most underappreciated player Kamren Kinchens has already proved he can be one of the top playmaking safeties in the NFL
Kamren Kinchens had to wait a while to hear his name called during the 2024 NFL Draft. By the time he was selected, 98 players had already come off the board. His stock had slipped, not because of production or character, but because of a stopwatch. A 4.65 40-yard dash at the combine knocked the Miami safety down draft boards, and by the end of Round 3, the Los Angeles Rams were happy to take the gamble.
It didn't take long for that bet to pay off.
NFL.com's Gennaro Filice recently named Kinchens as the Rams' most underappreciated player heading into the 2025 season, a nod to a debut campaign that flew under the national radar but didn't go unnoticed by opposing quarterbacks. It's the kind of recognition that suggests bigger things might be on the way.
Blame the Underwear Olympics. Shoddy athletic testing at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine depressed the safety's draft stock, allowing the Rams to scoop him up with the penultimate pick of Round 3. But the 4.65 40-yard dash didn't prevent the rookie from picking off four passes -- and taking one 103 yards to the house. An instinctive ballhawk who grabbed 11 interceptions in his final two collegiate campaigns at Miami, Kinchens is further proof that play speed transfers quite nicely to the NFL. After all, Ed Reed ran a 4.57 40 in Indy, and he might be the greatest center fielder in league history.
It was an offseason that saw Los Angeles reload on both sides of the ball and Kinchens quietly emerged as one of the most impactful rookies on the roster last year. He finished the 2024 season with 57 tackles, four interceptions, six pass deflections, one forced fumble, one recovery, and a highlight-reel 103-yard pick-six that changed the course of a midseason win.
Instincts. Timing. Ball skills. The traits that made him a college standout translated immediately, even if the pre-draft narrative suggested otherwise. His speed on tape never matched his time in Indy, and in today's NFL where anticipation and positioning matter more than straight-line speed, Kinchens fits right in.
Kinchens may not have turned heads under the lights of the combine, but put him in pads on Sundays and the story changes. The Rams found themselves a steal, and he's just getting started.
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