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Kyle Kennard, EDGE, South Carolina (Senior)

Picture of Rayane M

Rayane M

The 2025 NFL Draft is fast approaching, and despite an initial impression that this year's class might lack talent, The Trick Play team has once again delved into the tapes to bring you scouting reports on the players who will soon wear the jerseys of your favorite franchises.

From Quarterback to Safety, including the trenches where Offensive Linemen and Defensive Linemen engage in a relentless battle, Rayane and Valentin will walk you through the new faces of this 2025 draft class while everyone is excited about the coming NFL Draft


Strengths :

  • explosiveness
  • Extremely aggressive
  • Willing on the run stop
  • Nice Punch
  • Dangerous as a Pass Rusher
  • Leverage
  • Good bend
  • Constant

 

Weaknesses :

  • Dumbass
  • Age
  • Needs to improve on his run stop
  • Cardio
  • Potential

TTProfil

 
Kyle Kennard is a player who really stood out this season with South Carolina. While having a standout player like Dylan Stewart opposite him may have helped by freeing him up, Kennard certainly has real arguments to present to a team looking to strengthen its pass rush.
 
To begin with, Kyle is a player I find truly explosive. This is evident both in his takeoff from the stance and during plays, where you can see his significant acceleration. While Kyle may not be exceptionally fast, I do find his burst to be impressive. His explosiveness also shows in his tackling style and the pressures he inflicts on quarterbacks, where Kyle likes to make sure the QB knows he wasn’t far from a sack. It’s intense, and he rarely makes the trip without purpose.
 
This goes hand in hand with what I just mentioned about delivering hard hits on his tackles, but Kennard is an extremely aggressive player when he's on the field.
It is obvious that I see this as a positive for a player working in the trenches, especially when it comes to a defender. However, while it is a good point in my book, there is still a shadow on the table for this type of player, which is the behavior that comes with it, and we will revisit this point later.
 
In run situations, Kyle is a rather willing player. He doesn’t shy away from it, and it’s nice to see, especially in an era where run-stopping is often sidelined by edge rushers increasingly focused on developing their pass-rushing abilities. Many stand out coming out of college because of their strong activity in run game situations, which gives them a real advantage in terms of earning playing time in the pros compared to other prospects.
While Kyle is certainly not the best in this draft class when it comes to stopping the run or really excelling in these situations, his willingness to play and be a thorn in the side of the offense is truly commendable.
 
Exactly, to be a thorn in the side of the offense when defending the run, Kyle relies in part on a strong punch that often helps him create good separation from his opponent.
 
Beyond his impressive long-arm technique, which directly stems from a violent punch and solid wingspan, Kennard is a dangerous pass rusher. While his impressive athletic abilities certainly play a role, Kyle isn't just an exceptional athlete—he’s not a player with a limited technical arsenal. In fact, I’d argue it's quite the opposite.
I do believe that many don’t realize how developed his skill set actually is. I’ve seen him this year pull from several different techniques in his arsenal, yet I’ve really seen very little focus on this particular aspect when discussing the player. This is mainly because the points most often highlighted about him are his athletic abilities and his aggression.
Yet, Rip move, Chop, Ghost, Swim, Spin, Bull-Rush, Pull-Pull, Stutter Step, Club, and as I mentioned, the long-arm are all techniques I’ve seen Kyle use repeatedly throughout the season. So, we’re far from dealing with a classic Power rusher with a limited set of moves.
 
His leverage is also a great asset in his game. Whether in a 2-point, 3-point, or 4-point stance, Kyle often manages to get lower than his opponent, giving him a real advantage, regardless of the situation he faces.
We could also talk about his bend, which, again, is quite good and often overlooked when discussing his strengths. Once again, while not necessarily exceptional, his bend is of very good quality and allows him to be a real threat on the edge. Kyle even has flashes of high-level use of his bend and bending abilities at times.
 
Add to that a real consistency in performance, with, for example, only one game this season where he didn’t record a sack, but also the overall impression you get when watching him play. It's not uncommon to feel that Kyle is rarely useless in a game; he is always applying significant pressure that can force the opposing QB into making a mistake, pushing the play inside, and thereby leading the offense to a minimal gain in yards, even though this may not show up on the stat sheet.
Moreover, he seems to be constantly improving since he started playing at Georgia Tech, which is definitely a positive point to note.
 
Unfortunately, while Kyle Kennard is a player full of qualities, the few flaws that disrupt his game remain significant and could have a real impact on the value NFL teams assign to him as a prospect.
 
The first point, and potentially one of the most important, is that Kyle is quite a knucklehead. If his game against LSU is the perfect example, unfortunately, there have been other episodes throughout his career, but let's focus on the game against the Tigers because it perfectly represents the kind of game that needs to be revisited to understand the gamble with Kyle Kennard.
In this game, Kyle almost single-handedly sinks South Carolina by committing absolutely dumb flags multiple times at crucial moments towards the end of the game. What bothers me about this is that he does this after having been incredible throughout the game and being one of the main reasons for the Gamecocks' dominance during the match.
These kinds of things could close the door to certain franchises that are looking for a specific type of player and the values they promote. It will therefore be up to Kyle to do what’s necessary during individual interviews to make people forget about these kinds of incidents.
 
His age will also likely be an important factor in his final value, as Kyle will turn 24 in December. We are in an era where youth is a determining factor for some franchises, not only from a development perspective but also in terms of the length of time a player could shine with the organization.
For these reasons, it's important to slightly devalue older players to align with their actual value in the eyes of NFL franchises. Kyle belongs to this group of more experienced players, and even though my opinion may differ from some draft experts or fans who automatically view younger players as having more value than older ones, the fact remains that this could influence Kennard's value, just as it has for dozens and dozens of players before him.
 
Although he is willing in run-stop situations, Kyle will really need to work on being more decisive in these phases of the game. Against Alabama, for example, there were, in my opinion, far too many plays where the ball carrier came close to him without Kyle being able to make the tackle. This even happened at times when Kyle was being blocked by a tight end, which should not be the case if Kennard's ambition is to earn a starting spot in the big league.
His game against Missouri is also indicative of the struggles Kyle can sometimes have in getting off offensive linemen with very physical profiles, especially in run situations where Kyle sometimes seems to have a hard time breaking free from a block he’s tangled in.
 
The last point to watch out for with Kyle is his cardio, or rather the use made of it by his defensive coordinator.
While Kennard is more than capable of staying on the field for extended periods, his usage, in my opinion, should still be monitored because, unlike some players who can manage their efforts to stay consistently dangerous, Kyle is a player who gives everything he has when he's on the field. As a result, when he slips into the red zone of fatigue, his level of play changes drastically, going from a potentially game-changing player to a crash test dummy, as he either gets blown up or becomes immobile.
Again, this is a situation that can't happen if Kyle Kennard's ambition is to become an NFL starter.
 
 

What can we say about Kyle Kennard and the value he represents for a future selection next April, except that we are faced with a rather attractive Edge rusher profile despite his advanced age.
More oriented towards Pass rush than Run stop, I don't think Kyle will make a dent if he's thrown into the deep end quickly. In my opinion, his technical range is often overlooked in favor of his athletic ability or general attitude.
If you haven't figured it out by now, Kyle Kennard is a player I like. He's pretty complete, and still seems to be able to improve his ability to defend the run while refining his quality as a pass rusher by working, in particular, on his pass rush plan.

While I don't get the sense that I'm looking at a player whose potential could be developed to the point of becoming a Pro Bowler in the medium term, I do genuinely feel that I'm looking at the perfect profile to become a solid starter, capable of taking on the role of the team's No. 2 edge. This is the type of player who, without making too much noise, could produce between 6 and 10 sacks per season if he lands in the right environment and could, at the very least, integrate into a rotation.
Despite the behavioral shadow hanging over him, Kennard doesn't seem to be a bad guy, but he'll obviously need to be channeled.

For all the reasons I've given, Kyle Kennard ranks as a Tier 3 for me. Had he been younger and a tad more decisive in run-stop situations, he might well have slipped into my Tier 2, but my questions about his ceiling force me to place him in my Tier 3.
In my opinion, his perfect value would be a selection in the 3rd round, but having said that, a team that is already well built up and that already has a superstar EDGE 1 could quite easily come and reinforce its team at the end of the 2nd round without this shocking me.

However, caution is needed when projecting him as an EDGE 1. I'm not sure if Kyle could handle carrying an entire team's pass rush on his shoulders with all that it entails, such as double teams, gameplans focused on him, etc. Therefore, it's important not to get too excited after a strong pre-draft process. On the other hand, if Kyle slips to the end of the 3rd round or beyond, it becomes extremely interesting for any team looking to strengthen their pass rush.
So a Tier 3 and a 3rd rounder projection for Kyle Kennard.

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