The Kansas City Chiefs turned over their safety room in the past few drafts. The team must continue adding talent through the 2025 NFL draft to replace free agent Justin Reid. The Penn State Nittany Lions have two safeties that should attract the Chiefs, including Kevin Winston Jr.
Winston missed most of the 2024 season with a partially torn ACL, but the junior’s confidence in the buzz he received from NFL teams and the media this past summer propelled him to declare for the draft. He enters the process with only one season of starting tape.
Winston’s size and versatility had analysts salivating over the summer, with some projecting him as a late first-round selection. He’s a large 6’2″, 208 lb. safety with excellent arm length. Penn State asked him to play single-high free safety in Cover 3, two-high safety in Cover 4, drop down as a robber, soft-shoe press against tight ends, some nickel defender in Cover 1 and step down into the box behind mugged-up linebackers.
A healthy Kevin Winston Jr is a heck of a ballplayer.
• Instinctive
• Physical
• Long
• Advanced run defenderTesting/medicals will be big but he bolds many of the boxes teams look for in a multi-level defender.👇 pic.twitter.com/gDFvwHum8R
— Ryan Fowler (@_RyanFowler_) December 12, 2024
Winston lacks true sideline-to-sideline range but still covers significant ground for a prospect with his size. Penn State asked him to rotate post-snap, which helped the defense disguise its coverage and fool quarterbacks.
Winston is an instinctive defender who anticipates throws at the defense’s second and third levels. He needs to trust his instincts more often and trigger on these routes earlier to generate more turnovers. Winston’s closing burst makes him a threat to undercut receivers on deep routes or make stops against short routes for little gain.
Winston’s willingness to play the run makes him a viable box player. He quickly triggers downhill but takes steep angles that create running lanes. Fortunately, Winston’s recovery speed helps him catch up to ball carriers when he finds himself in a trail position. He’s a wrap-up tackler who rarely misses his target.