Film Breakdown: Kenyon Green is an Intriguing Option for Cincinnati Bengals in 2022 NFL Draft

Will Cincinnati take an offensive lineman in the first round?

Author:
Mike Santagata
Updated:
Apr 1, 2022 8:50 AM EDT
Original:
Apr 1, 2022

Kenyon Green is a former 5-star recruit out of the state of Texas. He started 35 fames for Texas A&M at a multitude of positions.

He's played everything along the offensive line except for center. At 6-4, 323 pounds, he is a tall, thick guard that plays with power, experience, and some nastiness. He also has the length desired for an offensive lineman with 34-inch arms. The two-time consensus All-American is an intriguing prospect who is debated as the best guard in the country.

Let's take a look at the film to see why he could be an option for the Bengals in the first round.

What He Does Well

Texas A&M offensive lineman Kenyon Green (55) celebrates a touchdown scored by a teammate during a SEC game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Texas A&M Aggies held at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday, December 19, 2020. Kns Vols Football Texas A M Bp — © Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Green possesses fantastic pop in his hands to clear out defenders on combos and move players at the point of attack. He is an absolute force on the field and will clear players out at will. In the passing game, he will consistently stop blitzers in their tracks with a single punch.

He has a very nice ability to drop his hips and anchor in against bullrushes. Week in and week out against some of the top competition across the entire SEC, Green was an immovable object. He faced Christian Barmore would not budge. At his size and weight, this ability to quickly anchor makes him a rock along the interior.

Good ability to mirror rushers who try to work him laterally. He works well within a phone booth as a guard to protect both his outside and inside from defenders. This short-area quickness will assist him in evolving into an excellent guard in pass protection at the next level.

Core strength to turn, seal, and recover if needed. Green possesses an awesome ability to dig out 3 techniques while also using that same core strength to seal or log defenders when they try to cheat inside against him.

Quick out of his stance to pull or get the jump on defenders. He is pretty athletic, even though he didn't test well. He is fairly quick out of his stance and as I stated earlier, he has the short area quickness to pass protect against speed players. He’s not an elite athlete, but he is pretty good as one.

Nice, quick processing on stunts and blitzers to not allow free runners. This mental processing area of his game is huge because of how quick the game is for interior linemen in the NFL.

What Needs Work

Sep 18, 2021; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies offensive lineman Kenyon Green (55) in action during the game between the Texas A&M Aggies and the New Mexico Lobos at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports — Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Extremely erratic and wide hand placement on defenders make it so he could get called for holding at the next level.
The wide hand placement also doesn’t allow him to fully utilize his power and it gives up his chest.
Likes to wrestle defenders with his core strength and power rather than bring his feet with him. Bad combination with the hand placement issue because refs like to call that for holding.

Overall Thoughts

The All-American is easy to fall for and fun to watch. His power, quickness out of his stance, and size all make a very intriguing combination of traits for NFL teams.

In pass protection, Green is a dependable pass protector who has stopping power in his punch, quick processing on stunts, and the ability to mirror defenders from side to side. His quick processing on stunts will be vital for him to succeed early on at the next level.

A considerable amount of young linemen are lacking in this area and need to work at it early on in their career, but Green should be aware of what defenses will try to throw at him. He comes with positional versatility to come in and play any spot although I think he is definitely at his best playing guard. This is partially because he has a tendency to overset a little bit on pass rushers who are wide. By playing guard, it allows him to play within the phone booth where he can flourish.

His ability to anchor will also serve him well at guard because he will be facing big 300+ pound defensive guys. He truly needs to shore up his hand placement though. His wide hands could get called for plenty of holding penalties, give up his chest, and can lead to some miscues in pass protection. If he can shore that up, he could become a rock on the interior.

In the run game, Green is an exceptionally strong lineman whose combination blocks are devastating to defenders. He has the ability to knock opposing linemen over a gap with ease while he can climb to the second level to bully a linebacker. This power at the point of attack is combined with quickness out of his stance. He can really drive defenders when he connects and these two traits in conjunction with each other create devastating pull blocks.

He also has the core strength to turn defenders at his will to seal them off. His issues in this area come from his hand placement once again and how he likes to use his fantastic strength rather than always firing his feet. He will often be too wide with his hands which can work against him. It does not let him fully utilize his power and it again can get called for holding at the next level.

Green can bully players at the college level on pure strength, but in the NFL he will need to be more consistent with his hand placement. He also likes to wrestle guys which is fine, but he has the wide hand placement that often gets called for holding. Wrestling them with the wide hands is even more likely for a holding call. He will need to be more consistent with his hands in all facets of the game to really reach his potential in the NFL. Otherwise he may become a bit of a penalty magnet.

Scheme Fit

Mar 4, 2022; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Texas A&M offensive lineman Kenyon Green (OL18) goes through drills during the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports — Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Green could succeed in a variety of schemes. If I had to pick one for him I think I’d look for a spread, inside zone or duo system where he can really work his ability to combo and climb. He does not really need to be protected much in pass protection and could develop into a really nice piece in a spread system if he develops his hands more.

Grade

Late First Round

NFL Comparison

Laken Tomlinson

Check out our film breakdown of Tyler Linderbaum and Zion Johnson here.

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