Ike Taylor spent his Monday down at South Beach working out the Miami Hurricanes top defensive prospect. In our Pro Day tracking, we spotted this shot from the South Florida Sun Sentinel – photo four of the slideshow – showing Taylor putting safety Kamren Kinchens through drills.
This marks the second straight year Taylor has attended Miami’s Pro Day. Last year, he checked out top CB Tyrique Stevenson. Though he was later brought in for a pre-draft visit, the Steelers opted to take Penn State CB Joey Porter Jr. over him. Porter finished the year as Pittsburgh’s top corner and a finalist for defensive rookie of the year.
This year, the Hurricanes’ top secondary prospects are S Kamren Kinchens and James Williams. After a slow 4.65 40 time at this year’s Combine, Kinchens improved his speed at his Pro Day, turning in an unofficial 4.57, per 247 Sports. He also repped 13 times on the bench press after opting not to participate at Indianapolis.
A ball-hawk, Kinchens has picked off 11 passes over the past two seasons, finishing first in the ACC the last two years. In 2023, he intercepted five passes. A threat post-takeaway, he has two career defensive scores.
In our scouting report, Ryan Roberts highlighted Kinchens’ range, processing, and natural ball skills. However, he noted too many missed tackles in the run game and a need to improve his playing strength. Overall, he gave Kinchens a second round grade.
“Finding a free safety who can play the middle of the field and make a ton of plays from depth is incredibly valuable. There is no safety in the 2024 class who has the upside in that role that Kinchens does. His range, ball skills and propensity for game-changing plays are something special. If he is able to improve his ability as an open-field tackler, you are looking at a perennial Pro Bowl performer, and the baseline is a quality starter relatively early into his career.”
Kinchens is expected to be one of the first safeties off the board in an underwhelming class, competing with Minnesota’s Tyler Nubin to be first off the board.
Williams did not work out at his Pro Day. He’s a potential conversion candidate, moved to linebacker for the 2024 Senior Bowl. At the Combine, he ran a 4.65 40 at 231 pounds. Coupled with a 30-inch vertical and 9’9″ broad jump, he may moved to linebacker at the NFL level. He recorded 73 tackles and an interception last season while forcing a pair of fumbles.
Our Tom Mead came away lower on Williams than others, believing a rotational role is his best fit, not an immediate starter.
“I am not as high on him as others may be. The potential role I see is as a sub package box safety to play in the big nickel or dime defense and match up with tight ends. If he improves the mental side of his game, a full-time strong safety position may be down the road.”
Williams received a fifth round grade from us.
Though less heralded, CB Te’Cory Couch impressed with a 4.48 40 and 10’4″ broad jump. In 2023, he recorded 38 tackles and three interceptions with one sack and one forced fumble. Listed at 5-10, 170 pounds, he profiles as a slot corner and could be a sought-after undrafted free agent.
Other notable players working out at Monday’s Miami Pro Day included C Matt Lee, DL Leonard Taylor III, and OG Javion Cohen.
