Kyle Kennard NFL Draft 2025: Scouting Report for South Carolina Edge

HEIGHT: 6'4"

WEIGHT: 262

HAND: 9¾”

ARM: 34"

WINGSPAN: 81½”

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40-YARD DASH: 4.73

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POSITIVES

— Good burst off the line of scrimmage to win with speed around the edge paired with a solid rip move as a pass-rusher.

— Quick and twitchy to develop an inside stick move as a counter if he gets his use of hands down.

— Takes good angles and has natural bend with flexible hips/lower half to corner and take an efficient path to the quarterback.

— As a run defender, he's quick to get his hands up and has long arms to get extension on blocks with added strength.

— Good production with 17.5 sacks and 27 TFLs over the last two seasons combined.

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NEGATIVES

— Lacks strength to hold his ground against offensive linemen as a run defender and will struggle to set the edge at the next level.

— Likes to work around blocks, causing him to leave his gap.

— Sub-par strength also hurts his ability to turn speed to power as a pass-rusher and will lead to him getting washed inside if offensive tackles can get their hands on him.

— Inaccurate with his hands/initial chops as a pass-rusher, often missing and making it difficult to 'defeat the hands and defeat the man'.

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NOTES

— Born Dec. 12, 2001

— A 3-star recruit in the 2020 class, per 247Sports

— Transferred from Georgia Tech ahead of 2024 season

— No major injuries

— 2024: Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner; SEC Defensive Player of the Year; Consensus All-American; First-Team All-SEC; led SEC in sacks

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OVERALL

Kyle Kennard has been a riser in this year's draft class after an impressive campaign that earned him plenty of recognition. That's primarily due to his work as a pass-rusher, leading the SEC with 11.5 sacks in 2024.

Kennard has a good get-off to win with speed around the edge while also showing an impressive rip or dip-rip move and bend to corner at the top of the rush. He also has twitch to help develop some inside counter moves down the line and has flashed a decent spin move. But he does need to improve his use of hands to flush those moves out.

Against the run, the South Carolina product is decent at taking blocks from tight ends and has tools to grow in that department. However, he needs to add some size and strength to set the edge against offensive linemen in the NFL.

The problem is he's already put on 16 pounds from his last season at Georgia Tech—based on the roster weights—and is an older prospect, so there's a question about how much more weight he can effectively put on.

Overall, Kennard can contribute as a third-down or situational pass rusher and has potential to develop as a run defender. Schematically, he'd be best as a standup outside linebacker in odd fronts.

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GRADE: 6.9 (Potential Role Player — 4th Round)

OVERALL RANK: 117

POSITION RANK: EDGE15

PRO COMPARISON: Byron Young with better length

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Written by B/R NFL Scout Matt Holder

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Prospect workout numbers, measurables (40-yard dash, hand size, etc.) and 2024 statistics will be added at a later date.