Kyle Kennard NFL Draft Overview
Position: Edge Defender
Height: 6′-4″
Weight: 254 pounds
School: South Carolina
2025 NFL Draft: Kyle Kennard Scouting Report
After spending his early college years at Georgia Tech, edge defender Kyle Kennard enters the 2025 NFL Draft following a breakout season with the South Carolina Gamecocks. Playing in 12 games, the Senior finished his final season at the collegiate level with 10 sacks, six quarterback hits, 23 hurries, 15.5 tackles-for-loss, and one batted pass in 554 snaps, per Pro Football Focus. This strong season against elite college competition earned him First-Team All-SEC honors and the SEC Defensive Player of the Year.
Strengths
- Sound fundamentals – gets after the quarterback quickly and with minimal wasted motion;
- Long arms allow him to engage linemen before they can reach him;
- Impressive reaction speed – fast off the snap and can blow past slower tackles;
- Proved he can do it against college football’s elite players in the SEC;
- Fast, slippery play style should translate to third down work;
- Frame not completely maxed out – should be able to add muscle in the NFL.
Weaknesses
- Not a good run defender – will begin his career as a situational player;
- Struggles to play through contact – if a defender hits him hard, he’s out of the play;
- Needs to develop a counter and learn to adjust when initially blocked;
- A one-trick pony that needs more strength to develop into an NFL-caliber starter;
- Unremarkable athletic testing numbers somewhat limit his ceiling;
- Doesn’t navigate the trenches well.
Projection: Round 3
Teams With Need At Position: Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns
NFL Comparison: Azeez Ojulari
Bottom Line on Kyle Kennard
Kyle Kennard enters the 2025 NFL Draft as an incomplete player who has the potential to develop into an above-average starter if he can round out his game. Getting after the quarterback is the most important thing any edge defender can do in today’s pass-happy NFL, and Kennard excels at that. Blessed with natural speed, acceleration, and quick reaction times, the South Carolina product is at his best in obvious passing situations. Given a clear roadmap to the quarterback, Kennard bursts off the line and can blow past slower tackles for quick sacks. Even the tackles that match his quick foot speed struggle to contain him, as Kennard is slippery and has a decent set of pass-rushing tools.
However, he has a long way to go before he’s ready to start in this league. While pass defense is more important than run defense, you still need to hold your own in the trenches when the running back gets the ball. Kyle Kennard cannot consistently do this, as the NFL Draft hopeful easily gets pushed around by bigger, stronger linemen. This lack of strength shows up as a pass rusher as well, as Kennard struggles to recover when a blocker gets two good hands on him. Strong hits can knock him off his pass-rushing path, and he lacks the strength to counter blockers when they win the first part of the rep.
While Kennard could theoretically add muscle to his frame, it could come at the expense of his speed. The South Carolina product is not an elite athlete by NFL standards, so he may not have the physical gifts to keep his quick speed if he’s carrying another 10 pounds of muscle. With all that being said, he has the ceiling of a Pro Bowl starter and the floor of a strong situational pass rusher, which is more than enough to justify a third-round pick.
Main Photo: Kirby Lee – Imagn Images
