2021 NFL Draft Prospect Profile: Edge Joshua Kaindoh, Florida State
EDGE JOSHUA KAINDOH
Height: 6'7"
Weight: 265 lbs.
Class: Senior
School: Florida State
Former five-star recruit (247 Sports) out of Bradenton, Florida, where he attended IMG Academy. Kaindoh was the 10th nationally ranked recruit in the 2017 recruiting cycle and the 208th all-time recruit.
He was one of the hottest names in the 2017 cycle and ultimately chose the Seminoles. He struggled with injuries throughout his career but amassed 59 tackles, 16.5 for a loss, eight sacks, and one interception for a touchdown in all four of his seasons at Florida State.
Notables
Kaindoh had a hamstring injury that he overcame in spring ball of 2017. That injury was accompanied by an undisclosed injury in that same season, which forced him to miss the second half of the Syracuse game. He also had nagging hamstring injuries in his sophomore season (2018) as well.
Injuries can be a nuisance, but the real issue with Kaindoh was the significant “lower right leg injury” that he suffered in the third game of 2019. The injury resulted in Kaindoh missing the rest of the season and returning for his senior year in 2020. The medical red flags are serious with Kaindoh.
Traits
Ideal height and length with good weight. A thick base, long vine-like arms, and a very muscular lower body. He is physically gifted and possesses solid overall athletic ability; Kaindoh is a long-striding EDGE who has a solid first step but isn’t known for his explosive ability up the pass-rushing arc.
Change of direction skills and lateral movement ability is average. I was tasked to drop into coverage some in college. He isn’t overly stiff, and he can move decently for a man of his size, but it’s not something he’ll be consistently doing in the NFL.
He isn’t overly flexible in his ankles but can bend at the waist when going for his dip and rip move. Once tackles make contact, he doesn’t do the best job bending through and around to flip his hips into the pocket and at the quarterback.
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When he does, he usually uses hard inside jab moves at the line and then relies on long strides and violent pass-rushing moves (chops/swipes) to get to the top of the arc (while forcing tackles off-balance) when he does have success cornering.
I love his use of violence with his inside/outside arm chop, and he uses the latter with a solid inside shoulder dip to tilt his body, followed by the rip move. Could use his length a bit more, but he has flashed a long arm attack. He does a solid job generating raw power from his base in bull-rush scenarios. Has shown the ability to convert speed to power. Counter moves are a work in progress.
I wish he used his length a bit more to lockout as a run defender--he lets tackles into his chest too often, his pad level would rise, and he’d lose the play strength battle.
Typically has good functional strength when his technique is sound. I love what he can do as an unblocked backside pursuit defender; he chews ground up with his long strides and plays with good competitive toughness by chasing ball carriers down the line of scrimmage with very good speed when he opens up his stride.
Overall, Kaindoh has medical concerns but also has very intriguing size and physical gifts. He’s not overly bursty or bendy, and his center of gravity is a bit too high, which hurts his ability to maximize his good functional strength.
Kaindoh is a developmental piece who can grow as a pass rusher and as a run blocker. With the right coaching staff and some time, Kaindoh could develop into an adequate 4-3 end in the NFL.
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